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NASA/Erika Nesvold and Marc Kuchner", "items": [ { "id": 301614, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 442858, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011800/a011896/plot299.png", "filename": "plot299.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Video of Beta Pictoris disk simulation showing the evolution of the mass density in cross section over time.NASA/Erika Nesvold and Marc Kuchner", "width": 1250, "height": 460, "pixels": 575000 } }, { "id": 301615, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 442862, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011800/a011896/plot299_print.jpg", "filename": "plot299_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Video of Beta Pictoris disk simulation showing the evolution of the mass density in cross section over time.NASA/Erika Nesvold and Marc Kuchner", "width": 1024, "height": 376, "pixels": 385024 } }, { "id": 301610, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 442857, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011800/a011896/Beta_Pic_Disk_Sim_Cross_Section_Wave.mov", "filename": "Beta_Pic_Disk_Sim_Cross_Section_Wave.mov", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Video of Beta Pictoris disk simulation showing the evolution of the mass density in cross section over time.NASA/Erika Nesvold and Marc Kuchner", "width": 1250, "height": 460, "pixels": 575000 } }, { "id": 301611, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 442861, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011800/a011896/frames/1250x460_125x46_30p/", "filename": "1250x460_125x46_30p", "media_type": "Frames", "alt_text": "Video of Beta Pictoris disk simulation showing the evolution of the mass density in cross section over time.NASA/Erika Nesvold and Marc Kuchner", "width": 1250, "height": 460, "pixels": 575000 } }, { "id": 301612, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 442859, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011800/a011896/Beta_Pic_Disk_Sim_Cross_Section_Wave-H264_Good.mov", "filename": "Beta_Pic_Disk_Sim_Cross_Section_Wave-H264_Good.mov", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Video of Beta Pictoris disk simulation showing the evolution of the mass density in cross section over time.NASA/Erika Nesvold and Marc Kuchner", "width": 1250, "height": 460, "pixels": 575000 } }, { "id": 301613, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 442860, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011800/a011896/Beta_Pic_Disk_Sim_Cross_Section_Wave-MPEG4.mp4", "filename": "Beta_Pic_Disk_Sim_Cross_Section_Wave-MPEG4.mp4", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Video of Beta Pictoris disk simulation showing the evolution of the mass density in cross section over time.NASA/Erika Nesvold and Marc Kuchner", "width": 1250, "height": 460, "pixels": 575000 } }, { "id": 301616, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 442863, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011800/a011896/Beta_Pic_Disk_Sim_Cross_Section_Wave-H264_Good.webm", "filename": "Beta_Pic_Disk_Sim_Cross_Section_Wave-H264_Good.webm", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Video of Beta Pictoris disk simulation showing the evolution of the mass density in cross section over time.NASA/Erika Nesvold and Marc Kuchner", "width": 1250, "height": 460, "pixels": 575000 } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 344100, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11896/#media_group_344100", "widget": "Single image", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "Labeled version. This map of the SMACK Beta Pictoris simulation shows where collisions among icy and rocky debris occur most frequently in the disk. This edge-on view shows a slice through the disk. The tilt of the planet’s orbit drives particles above and below the disk plane, creating vertical waves. Particles pile up in the crests and troughs of the waves, enhancing the rate of collisions at this location. The orbit of the planet, Beta Pictoris b, is shown in green. At top, the solar system is shown to scale. One Astronomical Unit (AU) equals the average distance between Earth and the Sun.

Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Erika Nesvold and Marc Kuchner", "items": [ { "id": 301617, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 442864, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011800/a011896/edge_wave_spiral_labels.jpg", "filename": "edge_wave_spiral_labels.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Labeled version. This map of the SMACK Beta Pictoris simulation shows where collisions among icy and rocky debris occur most frequently in the disk. This edge-on view shows a slice through the disk. The tilt of the planet’s orbit drives particles above and below the disk plane, creating vertical waves. Particles pile up in the crests and troughs of the waves, enhancing the rate of collisions at this location. The orbit of the planet, Beta Pictoris b, is shown in green. At top, the solar system is shown to scale. One Astronomical Unit (AU) equals the average distance between Earth and the Sun. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Erika Nesvold and Marc Kuchner", "width": 4457, "height": 1629, "pixels": 7260453 } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 344101, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11896/#media_group_344101", "widget": "Single image", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "Unlabeled version. This map of the SMACK Beta Pictoris simulation shows where collisions among icy and rocky debris occur most frequently in the disk. This edge-on view shows a slice through the disk. The tilt of the planet’s orbit drives particles above and below the disk plane, creating vertical waves. Particles pile up in the crests and troughs of the waves, enhancing the rate of collisions at this location. The orbit of the planet, Beta Pictoris b, is shown in green. At top, the solar system is shown to scale. One Astronomical Unit (AU) equals the average distance between Earth and the Sun. No Labels.

Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Erika Nesvold and Marc Kuchner", "items": [ { "id": 301618, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 442865, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011800/a011896/edge_wave_spiral_no_labels.jpg", "filename": "edge_wave_spiral_no_labels.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Unlabeled version. This map of the SMACK Beta Pictoris simulation shows where collisions among icy and rocky debris occur most frequently in the disk. This edge-on view shows a slice through the disk. The tilt of the planet’s orbit drives particles above and below the disk plane, creating vertical waves. Particles pile up in the crests and troughs of the waves, enhancing the rate of collisions at this location. The orbit of the planet, Beta Pictoris b, is shown in green. At top, the solar system is shown to scale. One Astronomical Unit (AU) equals the average distance between Earth and the Sun. No Labels. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Erika Nesvold and Marc Kuchner", "width": 4457, "height": 1629, "pixels": 7260453 } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 344102, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11896/#media_group_344102", "widget": "Single image", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "This map of the SMACK Beta Pictoris simulation shows where collisions among icy and rocky debris occur most frequently in the disk. The planet’s slightly elongated orbit drives a spiral density wave across the disk. The spacing of the pattern steadily increases with greater distance from the planet’s orbit. Collisions driven by the density wave grind away larger particles and, after the 21 million years of the simulation, already have cleared them out of the central region near the star. The orbit of the planet, Beta Pictoris b, is shown in green. At top, the solar system is shown to scale. One Astronomical Unit (AU) equals the average distance between Earth and the Sun.

Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Erika Nesvold and Marc Kuchner", "items": [ { "id": 301619, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 442866, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011800/a011896/face_wave_spiral_collisions_no_labels.jpg", "filename": "face_wave_spiral_collisions_no_labels.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "This map of the SMACK Beta Pictoris simulation shows where collisions among icy and rocky debris occur most frequently in the disk. The planet’s slightly elongated orbit drives a spiral density wave across the disk. The spacing of the pattern steadily increases with greater distance from the planet’s orbit. Collisions driven by the density wave grind away larger particles and, after the 21 million years of the simulation, already have cleared them out of the central region near the star. The orbit of the planet, Beta Pictoris b, is shown in green. At top, the solar system is shown to scale. One Astronomical Unit (AU) equals the average distance between Earth and the Sun. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Erika Nesvold and Marc Kuchner", "width": 4691, "height": 4973, "pixels": 23328343 } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 344103, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11896/#media_group_344103", "widget": "Single image", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "Labeled version. These images compare a view of Beta Pictoris in scattered light as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope (top) with a similar view constructed from data in the SMACK simulation (red overlay, bottom). The X pattern in the Hubble image forms as a result of a faint secondary dust disk inclined to the main debris disk. Previous simulations were unable to reproduce this feature, but the SMACK model replicates the overall pattern because it captures the three-dimensional distribution of the collisions responsible for making the dust.

Credit: Top, NASA/ESA and D. Golimowski (Johns Hopkins Univ.); bottom, NASA Goddard/E. Nesvold and M. Kuchner", "items": [ { "id": 301620, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 442867, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011800/a011896/HST_Sim_dust_labels_small.jpg", "filename": "HST_Sim_dust_labels_small.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Labeled version. These images compare a view of Beta Pictoris in scattered light as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope (top) with a similar view constructed from data in the SMACK simulation (red overlay, bottom). The X pattern in the Hubble image forms as a result of a faint secondary dust disk inclined to the main debris disk. Previous simulations were unable to reproduce this feature, but the SMACK model replicates the overall pattern because it captures the three-dimensional distribution of the collisions responsible for making the dust. Credit: Top, NASA/ESA and D. Golimowski (Johns Hopkins Univ.); bottom, NASA Goddard/E. Nesvold and M. Kuchner", "width": 2090, "height": 1105, "pixels": 2309450 } }, { "id": 301621, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 442868, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011800/a011896/HST_Sim_dust_labels.jpg", "filename": "HST_Sim_dust_labels.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Labeled version. These images compare a view of Beta Pictoris in scattered light as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope (top) with a similar view constructed from data in the SMACK simulation (red overlay, bottom). The X pattern in the Hubble image forms as a result of a faint secondary dust disk inclined to the main debris disk. Previous simulations were unable to reproduce this feature, but the SMACK model replicates the overall pattern because it captures the three-dimensional distribution of the collisions responsible for making the dust. Credit: Top, NASA/ESA and D. Golimowski (Johns Hopkins Univ.); bottom, NASA Goddard/E. Nesvold and M. Kuchner", "width": 8350, "height": 4413, "pixels": 36848550 } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 344104, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11896/#media_group_344104", "widget": "Single image", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "Unlabeled version. These images compare a view of Beta Pictoris in scattered light as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope (top) with a similar view constructed from data in the SMACK simulation (red overlay, bottom). The X pattern in the Hubble image forms as a result of a faint secondary dust disk inclined to the main debris disk. Previous simulations were unable to reproduce this feature, but the SMACK model replicates the overall pattern because it captures the three-dimensional distribution of the collisions responsible for making the dust. No Labels.

Credit: Top, NASA/ESA and D. Golimowski (Johns Hopkins Univ.); bottom, NASA Goddard/E. Nesvold and M. Kuchner", "items": [ { "id": 301622, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 442869, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011800/a011896/HST_Sim_dust_no_labels_small.jpg", "filename": "HST_Sim_dust_no_labels_small.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Unlabeled version. These images compare a view of Beta Pictoris in scattered light as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope (top) with a similar view constructed from data in the SMACK simulation (red overlay, bottom). The X pattern in the Hubble image forms as a result of a faint secondary dust disk inclined to the main debris disk. Previous simulations were unable to reproduce this feature, but the SMACK model replicates the overall pattern because it captures the three-dimensional distribution of the collisions responsible for making the dust. No Labels. Credit: Top, NASA/ESA and D. Golimowski (Johns Hopkins Univ.); bottom, NASA Goddard/E. Nesvold and M. Kuchner", "width": 2090, "height": 1105, "pixels": 2309450 } }, { "id": 301623, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 442870, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011800/a011896/HST_Sim_dust_no_labels.jpg", "filename": "HST_Sim_dust_no_labels.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Unlabeled version. These images compare a view of Beta Pictoris in scattered light as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope (top) with a similar view constructed from data in the SMACK simulation (red overlay, bottom). The X pattern in the Hubble image forms as a result of a faint secondary dust disk inclined to the main debris disk. Previous simulations were unable to reproduce this feature, but the SMACK model replicates the overall pattern because it captures the three-dimensional distribution of the collisions responsible for making the dust. No Labels. Credit: Top, NASA/ESA and D. Golimowski (Johns Hopkins Univ.); bottom, NASA Goddard/E. Nesvold and M. Kuchner", "width": 8350, "height": 4413, "pixels": 36848550 } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 344105, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11896/#media_group_344105", "widget": "Single image", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "Top: A simulated scattered light image based on data from the Beta Pictoris model. Bottom: The same image, with white lines drawn along the spines of the inclined components of the dust distribution. The two lines do not intersect at the star and have different angles relative to the main disk.This result replicates the well-known “wing-tilt asymmetry\" seen in real scattered light images of the disk.

Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Erika Nesvold and Marc Kuchner", "items": [ { "id": 301624, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 442871, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011800/a011896/wing-tilt_asymmetry.jpg", "filename": "wing-tilt_asymmetry.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Top: A simulated scattered light image based on data from the Beta Pictoris model. Bottom: The same image, with white lines drawn along the spines of the inclined components of the dust distribution. The two lines do not intersect at the star and have different angles relative to the main disk.This result replicates the well-known “wing-tilt asymmetry\" seen in real scattered light images of the disk. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Erika Nesvold and Marc Kuchner", "width": 1428, "height": 1095, "pixels": 1563660 } }, { "id": 301625, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 442872, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011800/a011896/wing-tilt_asymmetry_print.jpg", "filename": "wing-tilt_asymmetry_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Top: A simulated scattered light image based on data from the Beta Pictoris model. Bottom: The same image, with white lines drawn along the spines of the inclined components of the dust distribution. The two lines do not intersect at the star and have different angles relative to the main disk.This result replicates the well-known “wing-tilt asymmetry\" seen in real scattered light images of the disk. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Erika Nesvold and Marc Kuchner", "width": 1024, "height": 785, "pixels": 803840 } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 344106, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11896/#media_group_344106", "widget": "Basic text", "title": "For More Information", "caption": "", "description": "See the following sources:\n\n* [http://www.diskdetective.org](http://www.diskdetective.org)\n* [http://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/new-nasa-supercomputer-model-shows-planet-making-waves-in-nearby-debris-disk](http://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/new-nasa-supercomputer-model-shows-planet-making-waves-in-nearby-debris-disk)", "items": [], "extra_data": {} } ], "studio": "GMS", "funding_sources": [ "NASA Astrophysics" ], "credits": [ { "role": "Producer", "people": [ { "name": "Scott Wiessinger", "employer": "USRA" } ] }, { "role": "Animator", "people": [ { "name": "Tom Bridgman", "employer": "Global Science and Technology, Inc." } ] }, { "role": "Writer", "people": [ { "name": "Francis Reddy", "employer": "Syneren Technologies" } ] }, { "role": "Scientist", "people": [ { "name": "Marc Kuchner", "employer": "NASA/GSFC" }, { "name": "Erika Nesvold", "employer": "UMBC" } ] }, { "role": "Interviewee", "people": [ { "name": "Erika Nesvold", "employer": "UMBC" }, { "name": "Marc Kuchner", "employer": "NASA/GSFC" } ] }, { "role": "Editor", "people": [ { "name": "Scott Wiessinger", "employer": "USRA" } ] }, { "role": "Videographer", "people": [ { "name": "Rob Andreoli", "employer": "Advocates in Manpower Management, Inc." }, { "name": "John Caldwell", "employer": "Advocates in Manpower Management, Inc." } ] } ], "missions": [], "series": [ "Astrophysics Features", "Astrophysics Simulations", "Astrophysics Stills", "Narrated Movies" ], "tapes": [ "Beta Pictoris Disk Simulation (Produced by: Robert Crippen)" ], "papers": [], "datasets": [], "nasa_science_categories": [ "Planets & Moons" ], "keywords": [ "Ast", "Astrophysics", "Exoplanet", "HDTV", "Space" ], "recommended_pages": [], "related": [ { "id": 12807, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/12807/", "page_type": "Produced Video", "title": "Debris Disks Generate Spirals, Rings and Arcs in Simulations", "description": "Astronomers thought patterns spotted in disks around young stars could be planetary signposts. But is there another explanation? A new simulation performed on NASA's Discover supercomputing cluster shows how the dust and gas in the disk could form those patterns no planets needed.Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight CenterMusic: \"Hyperborea\" from Killer Tracks.Watch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.Complete transcript available. || 12807_Disk_Simulation_4k_still_print.jpg (1024x576) [241.9 KB] || 12807_Disk_Simulation_4k_still.jpg (3840x2160) [2.4 MB] || 12807_Disk_Simulation_4k_still_thm.png (80x40) [4.5 KB] || 12807_Disk_Simulation_4k_still_searchweb.png (320x180) [71.2 KB] || 12807_Disk_Simulation_ProRes_1920x1080_2997.mov (1920x1080) [1.5 GB] || 12807_Disk_Simulation_H264_1080p.mov (1920x1080) [263.9 MB] || 12807_Disk_Simulation_H264_1080.m4v (1920x1080) [131.7 MB] || 12807_Disk_Simulation_ProRes_1920x1080_2997.webm (1920x1080) [15.3 MB] || 12807_Disk_Simulation_SRT_Captions.en_US.srt [2.1 KB] || 12807_Disk_Simulation_SRT_Captions.en_US.vtt [2.0 KB] || ", "release_date": "2018-01-11T14:10:00-05:00", "update_date": "2023-05-03T13:47:03.231020-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 408279, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a012800/a012807/12807_Disk_Simulation_4k_still_print.jpg", "filename": "12807_Disk_Simulation_4k_still_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Astronomers thought patterns spotted in disks around young stars could be planetary signposts. But is there another explanation? A new simulation performed on NASA's Discover supercomputing cluster shows how the dust and gas in the disk could form those patterns no planets needed.Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight CenterMusic: \"Hyperborea\" from Killer Tracks.Watch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.Complete transcript available.", "width": 1024, "height": 576, "pixels": 589824 } }, { "id": 12054, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/12054/", "page_type": "Produced Video", "title": "Virtual Beta Pictoris", "description": "A supercomputer model reveals how the environment around a young star is shaped by a planet’s gravity. || c-1920.jpg (1920x1080) [220.2 KB] || c-1280.jpg (1280x720) [137.8 KB] || c-1024.jpg (1024x576) [110.9 KB] || c-1024_print.jpg (1024x576) [118.6 KB] || c-1024_searchweb.png (320x180) [73.9 KB] || c-1024_web.png (320x180) [73.9 KB] || c-1024_thm.png (80x40) [20.0 KB] || ", "release_date": "2015-12-22T11:00:00-05:00", "update_date": "2023-05-03T13:49:01.132973-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 436482, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a012000/a012054/c-1024_print.jpg", "filename": "c-1024_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "A supercomputer model reveals how the environment around a young star is shaped by a planet’s gravity.", "width": 1024, "height": 576, "pixels": 589824 } }, { "id": 4317, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4317/", "page_type": "Visualization", "title": "Exoplanet Disks In Formation", "description": "This visualization provides a full 360-degree rotating tour of the disk, face-on to edge-on and back. || NesvoldDiskMergeOrtho.brightness_orbit.0000_print.jpg (1024x576) [108.8 KB] || NesvoldDiskMergeOrtho.brightness_orbit.0000_searchweb.png (320x180) [41.0 KB] || NesvoldDiskMergeOrtho.brightness_orbit.0000_thm.png (80x40) [3.1 KB] || frames/1920x1080_16x9_30p/OrbitDisk/ (1920x1080) [64.0 KB] || NesvoldDiskMergeOrtho_1080p30.mp4 (1920x1080) [24.0 MB] || NesvoldDiskMergeOrtho_1080p30.webm (1920x1080) [2.2 MB] || ", "release_date": "2015-06-25T00:00:00-04:00", "update_date": "2023-05-03T13:49:39.277876-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 442487, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a004300/a004317/NesvoldDiskMergeOrtho.brightness_orbit.0000_print.jpg", "filename": "NesvoldDiskMergeOrtho.brightness_orbit.0000_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "This visualization provides a full 360-degree rotating tour of the disk, face-on to edge-on and back.", "width": 1024, "height": 576, "pixels": 589824 } }, { "id": 11499, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11499/", "page_type": "Produced Video", "title": "Beta Pictoris: Icy Debris Suggests 'Shepherd' Planet", "description": "An international team of astronomers exploring the disk of gas and dust the bright star Beta Pictoris have uncovered a compact cloud of poisonous gas formed by ongoing rapid-fire collisions among a swarm of icy, comet-like bodies. The researchers suggest the comet swarm may be frozen debris trapped and concentrated by the gravity of an as-yet-unseen planet.Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile, astronomers mapped millimeter-wavelength light from dust and carbon monoxide (CO) molecules in a disk surrounding the star. Located about 63 light-years away and only 20 million years old, Beta Pictoris hosts one of the closest, brightest and youngest debris disks known, making it an ideal laboratory for studying the early development of planetary systems. The ALMA images reveal a vast belt of carbon monoxide located at the fringes of the system. Much of the gas is concentrated in a single clump located about 8 billion miles (13 billion kilometers) from the star, or nearly three times the distance between the planet Neptune and the sun. The total amount of CO observed, the scientists say, exceeds 200 million billion tons, equivalent to about one-sixth the mass of Earth’s oceans.The presence of all this gas is a clue that something interesting is going on because ultraviolet starlight breaks up CO molecules in about 100 years, much faster than the main cloud can complete a single orbit around the star. Scientists calculate that a large comet must be completely destroyed every five minutes to offset the destruction of CO molecules. Only an unusually massive and compact swarm of comets could support such an astonishingly high collision rate.The researchers think these comet swarms formed when a as-yet-undetected planet migrated outward, sweeping icy bodies into resonant orbits. When the orbital periods of the comets matched the planet's in some simple ratio – say, two orbits for every three of the planet – the comets received a nudge from the planet at the same location each orbit. Like the regular push of a child's swing, these accelerations amplify over time and work to confine the comets in a small region. || ", "release_date": "2014-03-06T14:00:00-05:00", "update_date": "2023-05-03T13:51:06.704856-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 457608, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011400/a011499/Beta_Pic_Reddy_4k_web.jpg", "filename": "Beta_Pic_Reddy_4k_web.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "This artist's concept illustrates the preferred model for explaining ALMA observations of Beta Pictoris. At the outer fringes of the system, the gravitational influence of a hypothetical giant planet (bottom left) captures comets into a dense, massive swarm (right) where frequent collisions occur. The one planet known in the system, Beta Pictoris b, is shown near the star.Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/F. Reddy", "width": 320, "height": 180, "pixels": 57600 } } ], "sources": [], "products": [], "newer_versions": [], "older_versions": [], "alternate_versions": [] }