Beta PIctoris Archives

Astronomy & Telescopes, Beta Pictoris, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

Dynamics of the Beta Pictoris Planetary System and Possibility of an Additional Planet

by Keith CowingFebruary 22, 2025February 22, 2025

The Beta Pictoris system is characterized by a dusty debris disk, in addition to the presence of two already known planets. This makes it a particularly interesting case for studying […]

Cross-correlation S/N map for H2O, showing a clear detection of β Pic b at its expected separation and velocity. The velocity is in the frame of reference of the planet itself. The separation changes between 536 mas and 558 mas during the observational baseline between 29 Nov 2022 and 1 Nov 2023. -- astro-ph.EP

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Beta Pictoris, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release

Deep High-resolution L Band Spectroscopy In The B Pictoris Planetary System

by Keith CowingJanuary 17, 2025January 17, 2025

The beta Pictoris system, with its two directly imaged planets beta Pic b and beta Pic c and its well characterised debris disk, is a prime target for detailed characterisation […]

A giant planet in another star system -- Grok via Astrobiology.com

Astronomy & Telescopes, Beta Pictoris, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gaia Mission, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Stellar Cartography

Detection And Characterisation Of Giant Planets With Gaia Astrometry

by Keith CowingNovember 16, 2024November 16, 2024

Astrometric observations with Gaia are expected to play a valuable role in future exoplanet surveys. With current data from Gaia’s third data release (DR3), we are sensitive to periods from […]

Segment of the β Pic light curve with the deepest exocomet transit. Top: Similar to the previous figure, it shows the normalized PDC_SAP flux with the harmonic content (blue dots), and the red line represents the modeled harmonic fluctuations. Bottom: Difference between the original flux and the modeled one binned in 30-minute intervals. -- astro-ph.EP

AI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Astronomy & Telescopes, Beta Pictoris, Comets and Asteroids, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

Numerical Simulations of Exocomet Transits: Insights From BetaPic and KIC 3542116

by Keith CowingJuly 31, 2024July 31, 2024

In recent years, the topic of existence and exploration of exocomets has been gaining increasing attention. The asymmetrical decrease in the stellar brightness due to the passage of a comet-like […]

Cross-correlation maps produced using models broadened to the measured rotational broadening of each molecule. These CCFs are predicted to show stronger detections as the models used more closely match the broadened planetary lines in the data, and the influence of noise sources on the scale of a single resolution element in the CCF are suppressed. Most notably, when cross-correlating with an SiO model broadened to the 22 km s−1 rotational broadening measured from the H2O CCF, the evidence for the tentative SiO signal increases to an S/N = 4.3, while other regions are suppressed, suggesting a potential planetary origin. The CO signal is boosted to S/N = 6.6 and the H2O signal is now above the S/N = 5 threshold for a detection, with an S/N = 5.7. Cross-correlation with a broadened model containing CO, H2O, and SiO produces the strongest detection of all models tested, with a S/N = 7.5. The CCFs produced using the H2O model and the model containing all three molecular opacities show an offset from the expected velocity, which is discussed further in Section 6.3. To reduce the impact of correlated signals the noise estimates for these CCFs are measured from a down-sampled CCF, with the planet signal excluded (see Section 4.7). For clarity, and following the convention for HCS, the CCFs are presented here at the 1.5 km s−1 CRIRES+ pixel resolution. -- astro-ph.EP

Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

Into The Red: An M-band Study of the Chemistry and Rotation of β Pictoris b at High Spectral Resolution

by Keith CowingMay 16, 2024May 16, 2024

High-resolution cross-correlation spectroscopy (HRCCS) combined with adaptive optics has been enormously successful in advancing our knowledge of exoplanet atmospheres, from chemistry to rotation and atmospheric dynamics.

Variable absorptions in the 2740 Å Fe ii line. The black line shows the reference comet-free spectrum of β Pic, obtained by averaging the unabsorbed spectra at each individual wavelength. The deep and narrow absorption near 0 km/s is due to the stable component of the circumstellar disc of β Pic, which could be slightly blueshifted compared to the stellar radial velocity (see Brandeker (2011)).-- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Comets and Asteroids, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

Curves Of Growth For Transiting Exocomets: Application To Fe II Lines In The Beta Pictoris System

by Keith CowingFebruary 16, 2024

This study introduces the exocomet curve of growth, a new method to analyse the variable absorptions observed in β Pictoris spectrum and link them to the physical properties of the […]

Binned 5.2 µm slice of the PSF subtracted spectral cube showing the extended emission from hot dust. We apply an image normalization where vmin = −200 MJy/sr and vmax = 800 MJy/sr to emphasize emission from a spatially extended disk. The purple line shows a 5σ contour of the dust emission, the red circle shows the angular resolution of Spitzer at 5 µm (assuming it is diffraction limited) and the black circle shows the extraction aperture used for the MRS. The red cross shows the location of the central star. -- astro-ph.EP

Astronomy & Telescopes, Beta Pictoris, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

MIRI MRS Observations Of Beta Pictoris I. The Inner Dust, The Planet, And The Gas

by Keith CowingJanuary 31, 2024January 30, 2024

We present JWST MIRI Medium Resolution Spectrograph (MRS) observations of the β Pictoris system. We detect an infrared excess from the central unresolved point source from 5 to 7.5 μm […]

Complex nebulosity and substructures in the disk, as seen in F2300C. The stretch is adjusted to bring up fainter features observed in the outer regions. Relevant features are annotated including the main and secondary disk planes and cat’s tail. The nebulosity to the west (top) includes both irregular clumps or knots, and also some apparent linear striations or tendrils. To the east (bottom) the clumps are fainter and fewer but still present, including one particular bright clump at bottom center. These clumps are consistently detected in identical positions on the sky seen in the two distinct rolls, confirming they are astrophysical in origin rather than any instrumental artifact. -- astro-ph.EP

Astronomy & Telescopes, Beta Pictoris, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

JWST-TST High Contrast: Asymmetries, Dust Populations And Hints Of A Collision In The β Pictoris Disk With NIRCam And MIRI

by Keith CowingJanuary 14, 2024January 14, 2024

We present the first JWST MIRI and NIRCam observations of the prominent debris disk around Beta Pictoris. Coronagraphic observations in 8 filters spanning from 1.8 to 23~μm provide an unprecedentedly […]

This image from Webb’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) shows the star system Beta Pictoris. An edge-on disk of dusty debris generated by collisions between planetesimals (orange) dominates the view. A hotter, secondary disk (cyan) is inclined by about 5 degrees relative to the primary disk. The curved feature at upper right, which the science team nicknamed the “cat’s tail,” has never been seen before. A coronagraph (black circle and two small disks) has been used to block the light of the central star, whose location is marked with a white star shape. In this image light at 15.5 microns is colored cyan and 23 microns is orange (filters F1550C and F2300C, respectively). NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, C. Stark and K. Lawson (NASA GSFC), J. Kammerer (ESO), and M. Perrin (STScI). -- NASA

Astronomy & Telescopes, Beta Pictoris, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release

Webb Telescope Discovers Dusty ‘Cat’s Tail’ In The Beta Pictoris System

by Keith CowingJanuary 11, 2024January 14, 2024

Beta Pictoris, a young planetary system located just 63 light-years away, continues to intrigue scientists even after decades of in-depth study.

Outcome after a 10 Myr simulation of a disk of planetesimals initially between 0.5 au and 45 au in the environment of β Pic b and β Pic c taken from solution #2 from Table 1, viewed from above. The red bullets show the location of the planets and the star, and the black dots are the remaining planetesimals. -- astro-ph.EP

Astronomy & Telescopes, Beta Pictoris, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

Dynamics Of The Beta Pictoris Planetary System And Its Falling Evaporating Bodies

by Keith CowingJanuary 2, 2024January 14, 2024

For decades, the spectral variations of Beta Pictoris have been modelled as the result of the evaporation of exocomets close to the star, termed falling evaporating bodies (FEBs).

Beta PIctoris

Dynamics of the Beta Pictoris Planetary System and Possibility of an Additional Planet

Deep High-resolution L Band Spectroscopy In The B Pictoris Planetary System

Detection And Characterisation Of Giant Planets With Gaia Astrometry

Numerical Simulations of Exocomet Transits: Insights From BetaPic and KIC 3542116

Into The Red: An M-band Study of the Chemistry and Rotation of β Pictoris b at High Spectral Resolution

Curves Of Growth For Transiting Exocomets: Application To Fe II Lines In The Beta Pictoris System

MIRI MRS Observations Of Beta Pictoris I. The Inner Dust, The Planet, And The Gas

JWST-TST High Contrast: Asymmetries, Dust Populations And Hints Of A Collision In The β Pictoris Disk With NIRCam And MIRI

Webb Telescope Discovers Dusty ‘Cat’s Tail’ In The Beta Pictoris System

Dynamics Of The Beta Pictoris Planetary System And Its Falling Evaporating Bodies

Astrochemical Study of Early Embedded Discs

A Panspermia Origin For Venus Cloud Life

Responsible Use of Large Language Models in Microbial Genomics and Bioinformatics: A Life-Science Framework for Reliability, Reproducibility, and Risk-Aware Interpretation

Free Floating Exoplanets or Merely Detached?

Orbital Biosignature Assay: Summer Algal Bloom Spreads Across The Baltic Sea