Length of exoplanet day measured for first time: Spin of Beta Pictoris b measured
Wednesday, April 30, 2014 - 16:06
in Astronomy & Space
Observations from ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) have, for the first time, determined the rotation rate of an exoplanet. Beta Pictoris b has been found to have a day that lasts only eight hours. This is much quicker than any planet in the planetary system — its equator is moving at almost 100,000 kilometers per hour. This new result extends the relation between mass and rotation seen in the solar system to exoplanets.