A GALWAY astronomer has led an international research team which has discovered a new planet.
University of Galway PhD student Chloe Lawlor headed up the team which discovered the planet in the same system where they found another planet last year.
The young planet, which has been named WISPIT 2c, is estimated to be about five million years-old and is most likely ten times the mass of Jupiter. The planet discovered in 2025 was WISPIT 2b.
Ms Lawlor, from the Centre for Astronomy at the School of Natural Sciences and the Ryan Institute at the University of Galway, worked in collaboration with PhD student Richelle van Capelleveen, of the Leiden Observatory in the Netherlands, and postdoctoral researcher Guillaume Bourdarot, of the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Garching, Germany.
“After the initial discovery of WISPIT 2b, which I was also involved in, we suspected there might be another object in the system,” Ms Lawlor said.
“At first, we weren’t sure if it was a planet or a very large dust clump.
“We very quickly made follow-up observations using the Very Large Telescope Interferometer, an incredible setup where multiple telescopes can be connected to form a large virtual telescope.
WISPIT 2c can be seen in the northern hemisphere between July and November“This allowed us to take what we call a spectrum, which is essentially a chemical fingerprint, revealing the elements and molecules in an object’s atmosphere.”
She added: “Carbon monoxide is one of the key signatures we are looking for in young giant planets.
“When we saw it clearly in the data, that was when we knew we had something significant.
“There was definitely an element of disbelief. I didn’t expect to be the one to find a second planet in the system.
“When I sent the spectrum to my supervisor Dr Christian Ginski, it was a huge shock and upon further examination, he confirmed I’d found a planet!
“WISPIT 2 will become an important laboratory to study planet formation.”
Professor Frances Fahy, Director of the Ryan Institute said the discovery of WISPIT 2c is a “remarkable achievement and highlights the world-class astrophysics research taking place at University of Galway”.
She added: “The Ryan Institute is proud to support research that pushes the boundaries of scientific discovery. I warmly congratulate PhD researcher Chloe Lawlor on this breakthrough and Dr Christian Ginski for his leadership and dedication to astronomy research.
“Discoveries like this capture the imagination and can inspire a whole new generation of astronomers.”
The study has been published in Astrophysical Journal Letters.
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