IS SUN. Sidewalk
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This illustration shows an exocomet orbiting the young planetary system of the star Beta Pictoris.
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Nationalgeographic.co.id – Bintang Beta Pictoris discovered nearly 40 years ago. This star has a young planetary system that is about 20 million years old. This planetary system is characterized by the presence of a disk of gas and dust debris. At least two large planets were discovered, and many small objects.
The Beta Pictoris planetary system is located 63 light years from us. This planetary system was detected in early 1987. For more than thirty years, exocomet that crosses the star has been detected. Astronomers use spectroscopy to investigate the gaseous portions of the comet’s coma and tail. It is the first comet ever observed around a star other than the Sun.
The beta star Pictoris has fascinated astronomers because it allowed them to observe planetary systems in the process of their formation.
An international team of researchers led by Alain Lecavelier des Etangs, a CNRS researcher at the Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris (CNRS/Sorbonne Université), has discovered 30 exocomets. They also determine the size of their core, which varies in diameter between 3 and 14 kilometers. The comet’s core is like a ‘dirty snow ice ball’ that forms the comet’s heart. When a comet passes close to a star, the star’s heat causes the ice to sublimate. This creates a long, flowing tail that can stretch behind the comet.
“In Beta Pictoris, comets are seen ‘grazing’ the star almost every day,” said Lecavelier des Etangs, in a statement.
Their findings were published in the journal Scientific Reports on April 28, 2022 under the title “Exocomets size distribution in the Pictoris planetary system”. This finding is the result of observations of the Pictoris beta system for 156 days using NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS).
ESO L. Sidewalk/N. riser
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The illustration shows a planet orbiting the young star Beta Pictoris. This exoplanet is the first to measure its rotation rate. Its eight-hour day corresponds to an equatorial rotational speed of 100 000 kilometers/hour – much faster than any other planet in the Solar System.
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Like the comets in our Solar System, the Beta Pictoris exocomet is also formed by a series of collisions with other objects. “This shows the importance of interactions, collisions, exchange of matter between planets and small objects such as asteroids or comets in the early stages of the life of planetary systems,” said Lecavelier des Etangs.
Some of the water on Earth probably comes from comets and their ice. So scientists are curious to learn how comets can also impact exoplanets.
“We cannot confirm that the observed comet is likely to have delivered water-like material to planets orbiting Beta Pictoris. However, our observations suggest that collisions are very common and therefore suggest that temperate planets could be enriched with material trapped in frozen ice that is trapped in deep ice. caught by a comet when it is far from the star. Then it collides with the planets,” explains Lecavelier des Etangs.
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