# @europeanspaceagency on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DMYB7l1Nm50
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/35582061-europeanspaceagency-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/625a6fcc05.jpg
- **Posted:** 2025-07-21T15:50:00.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** J.L.Lopez (@xandler80) — https://gondola.cc/xandler80

## Caption

What if a “boring” star turned out to be hiding a planet all along? 🌟

Meet MP Mus, a young star once thought to be surrounded by a smooth, uneventful disc of gas and dust. Most stars like this show signs of planets forming — gaps, rings, structure. But not MP Mus. Or so we thought.

When astronomers first observed it with the ALMA telescope (first image), they saw nothing out of the ordinary. But a second look, this time using longer wavelengths, revealed something hidden. The updated image (second image) shows a gap and a ring deep within the disc, suggesting the presence of a young planet.

At the same time, our Gaia mission noticed something odd. MP Mus was wobbling — just enough to hint at a gas giant companion tugging at it.

Thanks to two teams working from different angles, this “lonely” star just got a whole lot more interesting.

📸 alma.observatory (esoastronomy / naoj_pr / thenrao )/A. Ribas et al.

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 6,774
- **Shares:** 0
- **Comments:** 31

## Credits

These are the roles credited on Gondola. Credits may be incomplete.
A brand, account owner, or featured person is not necessarily the creator.

| Name | Username | Profile | Role |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| ESA - European Space Agency | @europeanspaceagency | https://gondola.cc/europeanspaceagency | Government Organization |
| J.L.Lopez | @xandler80 | https://gondola.cc/xandler80 | Producer |
| J.L.Lopez | @xandler80 | https://gondola.cc/xandler80 | Editor |
| J.L.Lopez | @xandler80 | https://gondola.cc/xandler80 | Social Media Manager |
| J.L.Lopez | @xandler80 | https://gondola.cc/xandler80 | Publisher |
| J.L.Lopez | @xandler80 | https://gondola.cc/xandler80 | Copywriter |
| J.L.Lopez | @xandler80 | https://gondola.cc/xandler80 | Community Manager |

---
Copyright (c) Gondola