Astronomers report the discovery of a possible extrasolar planet just a few million years old — which poses problems for some models of planetary formation.

The planet — the youngest yet seen to cross the face of its host star — is about 5.5 times the mass of Jupiter and takes just 11 hours to orbit its 2.7-million-year-old star. The planet is so close to the star that Julian van Eyken of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena and his team suggest that it may be in the process of being consumed. Moreover, the young age of this extrasolar system challenges astronomical models that require up to ten million years for planetary formation to occur.

Astrophys. J. 755, 42 (2012)