Star profile
Beta Pictor
What is Beta Pictor
Beta Pictoris is one of the most celebrated young stars in modern astronomy. Barely 12 million years old, it is surrounded by a nearly edge-on debris disk —the first ever directly imaged around another star— in which at least two giant planets, Beta Pic b and c, have been confirmed. At 63 light-years, in the Painter's Easel, it remains a living laboratory where the processes that shaped our own Solar System unfold in real time.
Where it is and when to see it
Beta Pictor lies in the southern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is December, when it culminates around midnight.
- From London it never rises above the horizon.
- From New York it never rises above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 73° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 39° N.
It ranks no. 2 in brightness among the 23 stars of Pictor in our catalogue. To find it, start from Alpha Pictor, the brightest: it lies about 14° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 63 years ago.
It opens in your browser. Free, no account, nothing to install.
Leave your signature on Beta Pictor
Your name and a message go up on the map for everyone to read. Signing is free.
Without a lock, someone else can replace your signature. How the lock works
We'll ask for an email to confirm it's you, no password.
A public signature from a real person. The chosen name is a symbolic denomination within Stelvia, with no official standing or IAU recognition: the sky is not for sale and belongs to no one.
Astronomical data for Beta Pictor
- Constellation
- Pictor
- Apparent magnitude
- 3.85
- Distance
- 63.4 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 86.821° · Dec -51.067°
- Catalogue
- HIP 27321 · HD 39060
A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.
Other stars in Pictor
Pictor has 23 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- Alpha Pictor3.24
- Gamma Pictor4.50
- Delta Pictor4.72
- HIP 289915.04
- Eta 2 Pictor5.05
- HIP 276215.16
- HIP 309325.20
- HIP 279475.29