A first look at the protoplanet with VLTI/GRAVITY+

Confirmed observations of young protoplanets actively undergoing the process of formation have remained rare to date. In this article , we present new insights into the nature of the recently identified protoplanet (age sim5 Myr) from Very Large Telescope Interferometer/GRAVITY+ observations. Through analysis of the spectral energy distribution (SED) and astrometry of with the inclusion of new GRAVITY+ data, we investigated the nature of the protoplanet's thermal emission and orbital properties. We performed an orbit fit with the inclusion of new high-precision GRAVITY+ astrometry to provide an updated orbital solution. We also analyzed the medium resolution GRAVITY+ K band spectrum in combination with new Very Large Telescope/SPHERE and literature photometry, exploring both the atmospheric properties and the constraints on the circumplanetary environment. Finally, we checked for any signal from a resolved circumplanetary disk in the GRAVITY+ data. We detected the protoplanet . Analysis of the SED reveals an effective temperature in the 900 to 1300 K regime and at sim322 mas separation from its host star. The new GRAVITY+ astrometry prefers an orbit with moderate eccentricity a slight preference for atmospheric models including clouds over pure blackbody emission . Although the GRAVITY+ observations also do not resolve a circumplanetary disk, we place an upper limit on the possible spatial extent of such a disk. The new GRAVITY+ observations independently confirm as a self-luminous and point-like companion that resides within the gap of the transitional disk at sim60 au from its host star. Further observations -- either at higher signal-to-noise ratios or at longer wavelengths -- are required to characterize the atmosphere and examine the presence of circumplanetary material from thermal emission of the dust.