Astronomers have spotted what they believe is a planet in the dramatic and violent process of being born in another solar system, an event that may shed light on how planets come into being.

An international team of researchers said the so-called protoplanet has a mass that appears to be at least the size of Jupiter, and perhaps two to three times its size. It is located about 335 light years from Earth, within the Milky Way. That isn't too far in cosmic terms; the Milky Way itself is about 100,000 light years across.

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