Disc around Beta Pictoris

Eso_eso9714a_1024

eso_eso9714a June 11th, 1997

Credit: ESO

This image represents Beta Pictoris. The disc around Beta Pictoris is probably connected with a planetary system. In particular, various independent observations have led to the conclusion that comets are present around this star, and variability of its intensity has been tentatively attributed to the occultation (partial eclipse) by an orbiting planet. The image was obtained by combining coronography (in which the light from the star is greatly weakened by covering its image with a small disk at the focus of the telescope) with the technique of high-angular resolution by means of adaptive optics which nearly eliminate the adverse effect of the turbulence in the terrestrial atmosphere. This results in a very sharp image with a high spatial resolution (0.12 arcsec) and a high dynamical range (10 5) which allows to follow the disk to a very small distance from the star, in this case only 24 AU (3.6 10 9 km), i.e. a distance where planets could be present. In the Solar System, this corresponds to a distance from the Sun to about halfway between Uranus and Neptune.

Provider: European Southern Observatory

Image Source: https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso9714a/

Curator: European Southern Observatory, Garching bei München, Germany

Image Use Policy: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

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Image Details

Image Type
Observation
Object Name
Beta Pictoris Bet Pic
Subject - Milky Way
Planet
Star > Circumstellar Material > Planetary System

Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Pseudocolor ESO-3.6m (ADONIS) Infrared (J) 1.3 µm
Spectrum_base
Pseudocolor
Eso_eso9714a_1280
×
ID
eso9714a
Subject Category
B.1   B.3.7.1  
Subject Name
Beta Pictoris, Bet Pic
Credits
ESO
Release Date
1997-06-11T00:00:00
Lightyears
Redshift
Reference Url
https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso9714a/
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Distance Notes
Facility
ESO 3.6-metre telescope
Instrument
ADONIS
Color Assignment
Pseudocolor
Band
Infrared
Bandpass
J
Central Wavelength
1250
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
Notes
Coordinate Frame
Equinox
Reference Value
Reference Dimension
658.0, 655.0
Reference Pixel
Scale
Rotation
Coordinate System Projection:
Quality
FITS Header
Notes
Creator (Curator)
European Southern Observatory
URL
http://www.eso.org/
Name
Email
Telephone
Address
Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2
City
Garching bei München
State/Province
Postal Code
D-85748
Country
Germany
Rights
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Publisher
European Southern Observatory
Publisher ID
eso
Resource ID
eso9714a
Metadata Date
2023-10-11T09:27:18.185763
Metadata Version
1.1
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Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

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There is no distance meta data in this image.

 

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