The signs were found in direct imaging by the James Webb Space Telescope, which is the closest thing scientists have to taking photographs of distant objects.
“These are incredibly challenging observations to make, even with the world’s most powerful space telescope, because these stars are so bright, close, and move across the sky quickly,” said Charles Beichman from Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory , externaland co-first author of the new discoveries.
Those stars create huge amounts of bright light that can block out nearby objects.
That could be why the planet was detected once, in August 2024, but then seemingly disappeared when scientists looked for it again.
“Probably the planet was either behind the star or too close to be able to see it. You need an element of luck,” said Dr Howett.
Astronomers will now look for more signs of the planet. They hope to use a new Nasa telescope – the Grace Roman Space Telescope – which is due to start operating in 2027.
Future observations by the James Webb Space Telescope should also be able to tell us what the planet is made up of, using something called spectral imaging.
That will build up a more detailed picture of what it looks like, and how habitable any orbiting Moons could be.