Astronomers have found what could be a planet with a ring system similar to Saturn's orbiting a young, Sun-like star 430 light years away. The object was found by observing the pattern of starlight blocked by the object as it passed in front of the star. Usually, the pattern is a simple dip in light, but in this case the pattern was more complex, consistent with four dust rings orbiting the object.
The mass of the thing is not yet clear, so it could be a super-Saturn, in which case the rings could be made of dust and shepherded by tiny moons, or it could be big enough to be a developing small star. In that case, the rings could be a disk of material from which planets will eventually form. Further observation will determine just how massive the object really is.
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