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22 July 2026

Discovery of planet Beta Pictoris b

While the discovery of an exoplanet is a significant scientific achievement in space exploration, it lacks a direct connection to Indian space missions or policy, making it useful only as contextual knowledge for broader science and technology questions.

1 min read 1 questions 2 prelims

Notes

  • Beta Pictoris b is a newly discovered cold gas giant planet orbiting the star Beta Pictoris.
  • The star is located 63 light-years from Earth in the constellation Pictor.
  • The star system is approximately 20 million years old.
  • The planet is slightly larger than Jupiter and has an orbital period of 91 years.
  • Discovery was made independently by two research teams using the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope and NASA’s Webb Space Telescope.
  • The planet is noted as the dimmest planet ever directly imaged from Earth.
  • It was previously hidden in archival data, obscured by the brightness of the host star and two other companion planets.

Questions

  1. Discuss the significance of direct imaging techniques in exoplanetary research and the challenges posed by stellar luminosity in detecting smaller, fainter celestial bodies. 150 words
    Attempt this — 150 words in 8 min
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Prelims

  1. Beta Pictoris b, recently in the news, is best described as:

  2. In which constellation is the star Beta Pictoris located?

Syllabus

Topics

Sources

250words.in · https://250words.in/daily/2026-07-22/discovery-of-planet-beta-pictoris-b