Chile's Alma telescope captures clearest image yet of birth of planets

This is the clearest image yet of planets forming around an infant star.

The image, captured by the ALMA radio telescope in Chile, shows a vast disc made of gas and dust.

Dark rings indicate emerging planets orbiting around a star, clearing dust from their path as they go, BBC reports.

The star at the center, HL Tau, is less than a million years old and about 450 light-years from Earth.

The process of planet formation takes place in a huge dust cloud so it cannot be observed using visible light.

But Alma (Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array) can see it, using new high-resolution capability and multiple antennas that observe at much longer wavelengths.

Scientists hope the image will expand our understanding of how planets form throughout the universe, including in our own solar system.