Free Astronomy Magazine January-February 2022

22 ASTRO PUBLISHING to measure the masses of the giant planets of the V1298 Tau system, just 20 million year old. Masses for such young giant planets had not been obtained previously, and this is the first evidence that these objects have already reached their final size at very early stages of their evolu- tion. For this study they have used radial velocity measurements from the HARPS-N spectrographs, at the Roque de los Muchachos Observa- tory (ORM), and CARMENES, at the Calar Alto Observatory. The results Giant planets could reach “maturity” much earlier than previously thought by IAC - Outreach Unit A n international team of sci- entists, in which researchers from the Instituto de As- trofísica de Canarias (IAC) partici- pate together with other institu- tions from Spain, Italy, Germany, Bel- gium, UK, and Mexico, has been able A rtist’s impression of the planetary system V1298 Tau. [Gabriel Pérez Díaz, SMM (IAC)]