Title: New Time-Lapse Footage Launched: 17-Year Journey of Massive Alien Planet Captured
Subtitle: Beta Pictoris b, a Jupiter-sized exoplanet, reveals its 75% orbit in a groundbreaking time-lapse video
Date: [Current Date]
New time-lapse footage has captured the awe-inspiring 17-year-long journey of a massive alien planet, Beta Pictoris b, as it orbits its parent star. This groundbreaking video showcases one of the longest time-lapse views of an exoplanet ever captured, condensing 17 years of hard data into an impressive 10-second clip.
Beta Pictoris b, located approximately 64 light-years away, boasts a mass nearly 12 times that of Jupiter. The footage was created by scientists who utilized real datasets collected between 2003 and 2020, giving viewers an unprecedented glimpse into the planet’s celestial dance.
Despite the remarkable feat of condensing years of data into a short video, the footage covers only 75% of Beta Pictoris b’s complete orbit. The monumental task of capturing the entire journey will require an extra six years of data, according to Jason Wang, research lead and astrophysicist at Northwestern. Wang emphasizes the need for patience in acquiring the remaining footage, stating, “We’re almost there. Patience is key.”
The discovery of Beta Pictoris b dates back to 2003 when its size and brightness made it relatively easier to spot compared to other dimmer exoplanets. While typical exoplanet detection methods include observing the effects they have on their parent star, Beta Pictoris b is one of the few exoplanets that scientists have been able to directly observe.
“It’s extremely bright,” says Wang. “That’s why it’s one of the first exoplanets to ever be discovered and directly imaged. It’s so big that it’s at the boundary of a planet and a brown dwarf, which are more massive than planets.”
Beta Pictoris, the star which Beta Pictoris b orbits, is around 1.75 times the size of our sun and nearly nine times as bright. The star is relatively young, aged at approximately 26 million years, making it significantly younger than our 4.6 billion-year-old sun.
To create the extended time-lapse footage, Wang and his colleagues enlisted the help of Malachi Noel, a high school student from New Trier High School who participated in CIERA’s Research Experiences in Astronomy at CIERA for High School Students program. Utilizing artificial intelligence, Noel developed a technique to analyze archival footage from three sources: Spectro-Polarimetric High-contrast Exoplanet Research (SPHERE), the Paranal Observatory’s NAOS+CONICA instrument (NACO), and the Gemini Observatory’s Gemini Planet Imager.
Noel’s algorithm bridged the gaps within the footage, ensuring the planet’s motion appeared smooth and continuous in the resulting 10-second video. Wang further refined the footage using adaptive optics to eliminate blurring caused by Earth’s atmosphere. By suppressing the brightness of Beta Pictoris, Wang successfully prevented the star from overshadowing the exoplanet.
The time-lapse video offers a rare opportunity for viewers to gain a visceral appreciation for the physics of planetary motions. Wang hopes that through this footage, people can gain insights into the inner workings of distant planetary systems beyond what graphs and equations can offer.
The remarkable collaboration between Wang and Noel has left a lasting impact on the latter. Inspired by the project, Noel contemplates a career in astrophysics, saying, “While it is too early to know for sure, astrophysics is definitely a career path I am seriously considering.”
As scientists continue to patiently gather the missing data to capture the remainder of Beta Pictoris b’s journey, the future promises to unveil even more stunning revelations about our vast universe.