Astronomers discover baby planet

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland, April 2 (UPI) -- Scottish astronomers said they've found an embryonic planet that could be as young as a few hundred years old.

Jane Greaves of the University of St. Andrews said the planet is still encased within a womb of gas.

"The planet will probably take millions of years to settle down into its final form of something like Jupiter," Greaves said in a statement. "So we really are seeing it very early -- even a bit like the first cells that make up a human embryo in the womb."

The protoplanet, called HL Tau b after its parent star HL Tau, is about 520 light years away in the constellation of Taurus. The finding was confirmed by researchers in Britain and supported by computer simulations from the University of Edinburgh, the University of St. Andrews said Tuesday in a release.

"We see a distinct orbiting ball of gas and dust, which is exactly how a very young protoplanet should look," Greaves said.

The findings were reported Wednesday at the RAS National Astronomy Meeting in Belfast.