Zooming in on Beta Pictoris

This sequence starts with a broad view of the southern sky and closes in on the bright star Beta Pictoris in the constellation of Pictor (The Artist’s Easel). This young star is surrounded by a dusty disc and also orbited by a large planet that is the first exoplanet to have had its spin measured. It has an equatorial rotation velocity of almost 100 000 kilometres/hour — much faster than any of the planets in the Solar System.