CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Astronomers have discovered the earliest seeds of rocky planets forming in the gas around a baby sun-like star, providing a precious peek into the dawn of our own solar system. It’s an unprecedented snapshot of “time zero,” scientists reported Wednesday, when new worlds begin to gel.

Astronomers have witnessed the birth of an entirely new star system for the first time. The budding planets are forming around the infant star HOPS-315.