"Flattened Smarties: The Surprising Shape of Young Planets"

Researchers from the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) in England have used computer simulations to model the formation of planets and discovered that newly forming planets may have a flattened shape similar to that of Smarties candies. This finding challenges the traditional assumption that planets are spherical and could shed light on the sequence of events that mark their birth and early evolution. The team's model suggests that the appearance of young exoplanets seen from Earth may vary depending on how those planets are angled, and observations from telescopes like ALMA and VLT could provide evidence to support this theory.