Beta Pictoris

Okay.

and then finally okay for this first part of the show let's talk about outer space signals from outer space from outside of our solar system oh my gosh from an exoplanet beta pictoris b could it be it's a radio signal I

mean

could it

But what it does is that the region of space that's influenced by the magnetic field, this is on our planet as well, At the poles, this is where you get aurora activity.

And that aurora activity is like the speeding up and the interacting of these particles and radio signals can bounce off or like get sent out.

And so this auroral activity, what they think they're seeing from Beta Pictoris B is So far away, 63 light years from Earth.

It's a gas giant.

What are their atmospheres like? What are their surfaces like? What's below the surface? Those are all really difficult questions to ask.

This study was nailing down a source of radio light that was coming from a place called Beta Pictoris.

It's a star called Beta Pictoris with planets around it.

Radio light was coming from it, and they were able to localize it to one of the planets that's orbiting that star and able to isolate the frequency and the pattern with which this radio light was coming.

And surprise, surprise, it wasn't aliens, but it was a clear, distinct pattern of what happens during aurora, meaning this planet was experiencing like an aurora borealis, like a northern lights, which was generating radio light, and we could detect that from Earth.

I can't wait to see the lawyer that drafts that.

The planet is called Beta Pictoris b, which honestly sounds like the lesser-known, slightly more boring cousin of Cardi B, and she's broadcasting loud and clear from 63 light-years away.

Wait.

Not Cardi B, she's down the street.

Yeah

... is a really long and close place at the same time.

Beta Pictoris a, by the way, they don't do any broadcasting.

It's all podcasting.

Yeah, and then there are other planets which are really interesting.

There is, for instance, Beta Pictoris B, which is quite famous too.

That was discovered also in 2008.

It's a system that has two planets, a B and then a C planet that is also a giant planet.

And of course, we want to say thank you to everyone listening.

Please join us next time on Growing Worlds as we explore another corner of the universe and the people bringing it into view.

As a quick postscript, since we recorded this episode, astronomers have announced the discovery of a third planet in the Beta Pictoris system, which is Beta Pictoris D, which is a perfect reminder of how fast this field moves.

And one in particular, it's a constellation called Pictoris in the southern hemisphere.

The star Beta Pictoris has a strange exoplanet How creative may the pictorius be? And radio astronomers, John, have detected some

sort of radio transmission coming from it.

What makes it unusual?