Astronomers have caught a glimpse of a stunning cosmic "phoenix" that represents a planetary system in the making.
Just like the mythological phoenix represents rebirth from fiery destruction, this cloud resembling a flaming cosmic bird may signify the birth of a gas giant planet from clumps of material gathered around a star that was recently born from the ashes of an earlier long-dead star. The study of dusty clumps around the star designated V960 Mon and located around 5,000 light-years away and the constellation of Monoceros could reveal how gas giant planets like Jupiter are born.
