Beta Pictoris as seen in infrared light - annotated

This composite image represents the close environment of Beta Pictoris as seen in near infrared light. This very faint environment is revealed after a very careful subtraction of the much brighter stellar halo. The outer part of the image shows the reflected light on the dust disc, as observed in 1996 with the ADONIS instrument on ESO's 3.6 m telescope; the inner part is the innermost part of the system, as seen at 3.6 microns with NACO on the Very Large Telescope. The newly detected source is more than 1000 times fainter than Beta Pictoris, aligned with the disc, at a projected distance of 8 times the Earth-Sun distance. Both parts of the image were obtained on ESO telescopes equipped with adaptive optics. 

Credit:

ESO/A.-M. Lagrange et al.

About the Image

Id:eso0842b
Type:Observation
Release date:21 November 2008
Related releases:eso0842
Size:990 x 985 px

About the Object

Name:Beta Pictoris
Type:Milky Way : Planet
Milky Way : Star : Circumstellar Material : Planetary System
Distance:70 light years
Category:Exoplanets
Stars

Image Formats

Large JPEG
140.6 KB
Screensize JPEG
119.4 KB

Wallpapers

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121.0 KB
1280x1024
174.5 KB
1600x1200
226.4 KB
1920x1200
255.7 KB
2048x1536
318.8 KB

Colours & filters

BandTelescope
InfraredESO 3.6-metre telescope
ADONIS
InfraredVery Large Telescope
NACO