Scientists Detect Radio Signals From Planet Outside Our Solar System

A strange signal, coming from far beyond our solar system, has been detected for the first time. A team of researchers from the Harvard & Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and the University of Oregon managed to trace repeating radio emissions from Beta Pictoris b, a gas giant exoplanet that orbits an A-type star. It is located roughly 63 light-years away from Earth.

The exoplanet was discovered in 2008, and NASA previously reported that the mass of Beta Pictoris b is 11.729 times that of Jupiter. It takes 23.6 years to complete one orbit of its star and is 10.018 AU from its star.

In the past, astronomers could pick up radio activity from this distant star system, but they were unable to pinpoint whether the noise came from the star or an orbiting planet.

To understand the exact source, researchers used South Africa's powerful MeerKAT radio telescope array to scan the Beta Pictoris system multiple times.

Because of the telescope's high precision, scientists could isolate short, repeating bursts of radio waves coming right from the planet's position, well clear of its parent star.

The research details were available online on arXiv, but it has yet to be published in a peer-reviewed journal.

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Is it an alien signal?

Such scientific developments intrigue millions of people, especially those who are curious to know if there's life outside planet Earth. But this particular signal doesn't mean aliens are trying to get in touch.

Scientists revealed that the bursts are caused by massive planetary auroras, similar to the Northern and Southern Lights seen on Earth, but on a vast scale.

High-energy particles from space accelerate down along the planet's magnetic lines. As these electrons hit the upper atmosphere, they unleash powerful bursts of radio energy.

Beta Pictoris b spins at a high speed, completing a full rotation in just eight to nine hours. This rapid spin generates strong electrical currents that cause the repeating radio emissions.

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"Although auroral radio bursts are observed in Solar System planets and in some ultracool dwarfs, no radio detection has previously been unambiguously localised to an extrasolar planet rather than its host star," the researchers wrote in their paper. "We detect rapid, recurring, and highly circularly polarised bursts, as well as persistent emission, at frequencies of 0.85 to 3.5 GHz."

Calculations indicate that Beta Pictoris b has an intense magnetic field, estimated to be roughly 2,500 times stronger than Earth's.

Why is this signal important?

This discovery is important and opens an entirely new way for astronomers to study worlds outside our solar system. "This constitutes the first direct measurement of magnetic field strength for an exoplanet, and is consistent with dynamo-scaling predictions for a young, massive giant planet," write the researchers.