For the first time in history, astronomers have recorded the exact moment of the birth of a new planetary system around an alien star.

HOPS-315, a young star where astronomers have detected signs of the earliest stages of planet formation, as seen through the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (left). The insets on the right show molecules transforming into minerals. (Image credit: ESO Calçada/ALMA(ESO/NAOJ/NRAO) McClure…