Beta Pictoris b
Reference data for Beta Pictoris b: 11.9 Jupiter masses, 9.9 AU orbit inside an edge-on debris disk, rapid 8.1-hour rotation, and interferometry.
Provenance-Backed Scientific Measurements
Every measurement below preserves its unit, uncertainty interval, observational method, reference epoch, quality status, and primary catalog source. See Uncertainty & Provenance for how competing measurements are handled.
| Parameter | Value | Uncertainty | Method & Epoch | Quality Status | Source Archive |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Distance | 64.4 ly | ± 0.14 ly | Gaia DR3 trigonometric parallax of host star | definitive | ESA Gaia Archive — Data Release 3 |
| Orbital Period | 7707 d | ± 180 d | Equivalent to 21.1 ± 0.5 years, constrained by VLTI/GRAVITY astrometry and radial velocities. | definitive | NASA Exoplanet Archive |
| Semi-Major Axis | 9.93 AU | ± 0.13 AU | Keplerian third-law solution from stellar mass and orbital period | definitive | NASA Exoplanet Archive |
| Planetary Mass | 3782 M⊕ | ± 600 M⊕ | Equivalent to 11.9 ± 1.9 Jupiter masses from joint Hipparcos-Gaia astrometry and GRAVITY. | high-confidence | NASA Exoplanet Archive |
| Planetary Radius | 16.36 R⊕ | ± 0.35 R⊕ | Equivalent to 1.46 ± 0.03 Jupiter radii. | high-confidence | NASA Exoplanet Archive |
| Effective Temperature | 1724 K | ± 45 K | Self-luminous young gas giant radiating internal heat of formation. | definitive | NASA Exoplanet Archive |
J2000 Equatorial Sky Chart & Culmination Altitude
The chart below plots Beta Pictoris b — Directly Imaged Gas Giant at RA 05h 47m 17.09s, Dec -51° 03′ 59.4″ within Pictor, alongside peak meridian transit altitudes for 40°N and 30°S observers. Use the RA/Dec Coordinate Converter to compute exact culmination altitude for your latitude.
Astrophysical Context & Structure
Directly imaged in 2008 by Anne-Marie Lagrange and colleagues using the NACO adaptive-optics instrument on the Very Large Telescope, Beta Pictoris b confirmed long-standing predictions that a massive unseen planet was warping the inner region of its host star's famous edge-on circumstellar debris disk. Orbiting at 9.93 astronomical units—almost exactly Saturn's distance from the Sun—the planet circuits its 1.75-solar-mass A6V host star every 21.1 years, accompanied by an inner sibling gas giant, Beta Pictoris c, at 2.7 astronomical units.
Because the Beta Pictoris moving group is only 20 to 24 million years old, Beta Pictoris b still glows fiercely in the infrared from the residual gravitational heat of its formation, maintaining an effective temperature near 1,724 K and an inflated radius of 1.46 Jupiter radii. Joint Hipparcos-Gaia astrometry, HARPS radial velocities, and VLTI/GRAVITY optical interferometry pin its dynamical mass at 11.9 ± 1.9 Jupiter masses. High-resolution carbon monoxide Doppler spectroscopy also measured its equatorial rotational velocity at 25 kilometers per second—the first spin rate ever measured for an exoplanet, corresponding to an 8.1-hour day.
Although the planet's physical body misses transiting the stellar disk by a fraction of a degree, its vast gravitational Hill sphere swept across our line of sight to Beta Pictoris in 2017 and 2018, prompting global photometric and spectroscopic monitoring to probe circumplanetary dust rings and exocomets.
Practical Visual Observing Guide
- Host star Beta Pictoris shines at visual magnitude V = 3.86 in southern Pictor, easily visible to the naked eye.
- Direct imaging of the planet requires 8-meter-class adaptive optics or space coronagraphy to overcome the 10-magnitude infrared contrast at <0.5 arcseconds separation.
- VLTI/GRAVITY interferometry tracks its orbit to tens-of-microarcseconds precision.
Catalog Cross-Identifications & Aliases
Common Aliases: β Pictoris b · Beta Pic b · HD 39060 b · HIP 27321 b
| Catalog Authority | Identifier |
|---|---|
| NASAEXOPLANET | Beta Pictoris b |
| SIMBAD | Beta Pictoris b |
Related Objects, Comparisons & Guides
HR 8799 e — Directly Imaged Super-Jupiter
Reference data for HR 8799 e: 16.2 AU orbit, 7.4 Jupiter masses, VLTI/GRAVITY interferometric spectrum, and resonant four-planet dynamics.
51 Pegasi b (Dimidium First Hot Jupiter)
Coordinates, Gaia DR3 distance (15.46 pc), 4.2308-day orbital period, Nobel-winning radial-velocity discovery, and observing guide for 51 Pegasi b.
Canopus (Alpha Carinae Bright Supergiant)
Coordinates, Hipparcos distance (310 ly), magnitude −0.74, 71 R☉ yellow-white supergiant radius, and observing guide for Canopus in Carina.
Angular Size, Separation & Field of View
How angular diameter (degrees, arcminutes, arcseconds), spherical angular separation, and small-angle physical diameter relate to telescope field of view.
Exoplanet Transit & Radial Velocity Methods
How astronomers detect and characterize exoplanets using photometric transit depth ((Rp/R*)²), Doppler radial velocity (M sin i), and JWST transmission spectra.
Scientific Sources & Dataset Provenance
- NASA Exoplanet Archive (2026-10-01 snapshot): Akeson, R. L., et al. 2013, PASP, 125, 989; NASA Exoplanet Archive (IPAC/Caltech) — NASA Exoplanet Science Institute (NExScI / Caltech / IPAC)
- ESA Gaia Archive — Data Release 3 (DR3 (2022-06-13)): Gaia Collaboration, Vallenari, A., et al. 2023, A&A, 674, A1 (Gaia Data Release 3) — European Space Agency / Gaia DPAC