Beta Pictoris c

Beta Pictoris is a young and hot white star some sixty-three light years from the Solar System. It is surrounded by rings of dust and debris, and appears to be in the early phases of developing a planetary system. Among these rings, two true planets have been detected, of which Beta Pictoris c is the innermost.

Beta Pictoris c orbits its star at a distance averaging 2.7 AU (if it lay in the Solar System, this would place it within the Asteroid Belt). Beyond it lies the innermost of Beta Pictoris' belts of material, and beyond that is the other planet of the system, Beta Pictoris b.

Both of Beta Pictoris' known planets are gas giants, each larger and more massive than Jupiter. Beta Pictoris c is the smaller of the two, but it still masses nearly nine times more than Jupiter, and has a diameter some 10% greater. For comparison, the other planet in the system, Beta Pictoris b, has a mass nearly twelve times that of Jupiter, and its diameter is nearly 70% larger.