Birth of a Planet

For the first time, astronomers have been able to detect the birth of a planetary system. They suggest that these systems are formed from pieces of hot dust and gas particles. These astronomers were able to find two protoplanets, which are smaller objects that become planets.

This is astonishing because finding these forming planets is a complex problem where new systems are usually covered in dust so we aren't able to detect them and so we must be able to create new detection methods.

These stars produce the material and dust that form planets. Growing planets will move through this material and create gaps of debris that astronomers can detect with infrared light. The younger planets absorb the material and increase in size. As the material falls onto the planet's surface, it gets hotter, making the planet appear more red than usual and becomes visible to us.

Source:
http://www.iflscience.com/space/witnessing-birth-planets-0
http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/2041-8205/766/1/L1/meta