Beta Pictoris: candidate solar system. Coloured infrared image showing a disc of dust around the star Beta Pictoris. The central region of the image h
Beta Pictoris: candidate solar system. Coloured infrared image showing a disc of dust around the star Beta Pictoris. The central region of the image has been blanked off to prevent over- exposure by the star itself. Beta Pictoris is about 50 light years from Earth. The material surrounding it is a mixture of gas and silicate dust, potential building blocks of planets. Research published in 1995 described variations in the brightness of Beta Pictoris; explanations for this include the possible existence of at least one large planet around the star, or the formation of planetesimals (small rocky precursors to planets).
Size: 5080px × 3508px
Photo credit: © D. ERMAKOFF/EURELIOS/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: -pic, alien, astronomy, beta, candidate, circumstellar, cosmology, disc, dust, pic, pict, pictoris, planetary, protoplanetary, science, solar, system
