The Hunt for the Planet Orbiting Beta Pictoris

The nearby (63 LY) A5V -type star β Pictoris has been the subject of much scrutiny since the discovery of a planet-forming disk in the early 80's.

In 2008, it was announced that a candidate planet had been detected by the European Southern Observatory in Chile. Faring on the side of caution, confirmation was required to rule out a background star.

On June 10, 2010, the ESO announced that it had re-detected the companion, and that its motion through space showed it was very much bound to the star. Furthermore, with it now on the other side of the star, orbital motion is detected for the planet.

β Pictoris b is a ~8 ± 2 Jupiter-mass companion in an 8 - 15 AU orbit around a young, 12 Myr old star. The discovery of β Pictoris b is direct evidence that massive planets can form quickly in a circumstellar disk. Its location in the system is also in agreement with having been formed through core accretion.

β Pictoris b both confirms and constraints core-accretion based planet formation models, and will be an important target for future science.

But the story is not over yet. β Pictoris b cannot explain all the disk structures, other playets may yet exist in the system. The planet's orbit will also become more constrained as observations continue.

β Pictoris b joins a list of about 10 other planets that have been directly imaged, but so far all the other planets are much farther from their star and are likely to have formed by gravitational collapse of a massive, unstable circumstellar disk. This planet, about as close to its star as Saturn is to ours, is the first imaged planet thought to be formed through core accretion.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Beta
• Pictoris
• Exoplanet

[chainbluelightning1]

who have used their 'scopes to take pictures of Mars that look amazingly unlike the official, red tinged NASA photos, showing an atmosphere remarkably similar to Earth's. In any event, whether or not we ever meet organic beings we can communicate with, the worlds themselves are a treat. I just want to walk on one and see everything with my own eyes. :)

[Boy75402]

@chainbluelightning1

The appearance of Mars' atmosphere will vary depending on the angle of observation and the wavelengths used. The blueish haze around the limb is a result of rayleigh scattering, which is not inherent only to Earth. It's what makes water appear blue as well.

And of course depending on the wavelength and colour calibration you use, you can get images of Mars that look very different from each other.

Simply, there is nothing about it that isn't publically available knowledge

[Astrostevo]

Great clip - like teh chronology too. Very well done - Thanks. :-)

[chainbluelightning1]

@Boy75402 The astronauts may be largely civilian now, but they still report to the higher ups who are appointed by government officials. And back during the Moon landings they were military and that's why I think there's been no real debate about what they may have seen up there. During the Apollo broadcasts they said code words and switched to channels that ham radio operators in the Nevada desert - who were monitoring the activities - could not access. Then there's the amateur astronomers

[Boy75402]

@chainbluelightning1

It used to be the case where all the astronauts were part of the military, but that's largely not the case anymore. You can Wikipedia the recent several dozen Shuttle missions for examples.

While I agree that the government organisations are not exactly dependable, to believe they are hiding UFO evidence is a step away from rational suspicion and into wild unfounded speculation.

But it is reassuring that you acknowledge the moon landings :3

[chainbluelightning1]

@Boy75402 I have no doubt NASA's been LOOKING, but I'm afraid I lack your faith in that institution as it is, sadly, a branch of the U.S. government. All of those astronauts were once military pilots from the Air Force. Anything government related is suspect, in my trying-not-to-sound-like-a-sur­vivalist opinion. We've been betrayed by too many of our elected officials over the past 200 years for my tastes. If it's any consolation, I do believe the Moon landings happened.

[Boy75402]

@chainbluelightning1

If you truly saw UFOs no one's going to want you to be silent about it. NASA et al have been looking for signs of life elsewhere in the Universe for years (though at the moment, it's more technique refinement with the goal of life detection).

Though of course, if you got sent to β Pic, saw UFOs and came back, no one's going to believe you anyhow. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence."

You seem to be hinting NASA is hiding UFO info. If so, you're incorrect.

[chainbluelightning1]

@Boy75402 Exciting times indeed, what with water turning up on the Moon, and Mars. Not to mention Europa's ocean under all that ice. Who's to say there isn't a city under there, too? Again, I have to use the NASA line: I'd keep quiet about the UFOs I saw as long as I could get a glimpse of those worlds. Keep up the good work with your videos.

[Boy75402]

@chainbluelightning1

You're correct about the carbon abundance of the disk. Mountains of diamonds seems quite unlikely though (heavy elements sink to a planet's interior). The carbon abundance isn't quite *that* high.

Other than this planet, no others have been found, so no one can really claim there are additional planets there with any certainty. That being said, there is some evidence for additional planets from the disk structure. Definitely exciting times ahead!