There never seem to be enough hours in the day, but things could be worse. We could live on Beta Pictoris b. Days on the exoplanet are only 8 hours long.
There never seem to be enough hours in the day, but things could be worse. We could live on Beta Pictoris b.
Days on the exoplanet are only 8 hours long.
It’s the first time such a thing has been measured on a celestial body outside of our own solar system.
In observing its movements, scientists found that planet spins about 50 times faster than Earth – at almost 100 thousand kilometers per hour.
They tracked its speed by using a special instrument on the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope.
With its help they were able to use changes in the light spectrum to calculate the various velocities on the planet’s surface and deduce its rotational speed.
They also found that what Beta Pictoris b lacks in hours per day, it makes up for in days per year.
One year there is the equivalent of between 17 and 21 here.
It’s thought to be a lot younger too at around 20 million years, compared to Earth’s approximately 4.5 billion year
Astronomers believe that when Earth was as young as Beta Pictoris b, it may have been able to move like that too.
