Astronomical evidence
Beta Pictoris b is a directly imaged young giant in a system with an extensively studied debris disk. Direct imaging separates planetary light from stellar glare; it does not provide the finely resolved weather map shown in an imagined close view. Webb observations reveal structure in the circumstellar debris, including a secondary disk and a curved feature interpreted through dust-production models. [2] Dust brightness depends on wavelength, particle properties and geometry. The wallpaper uses a broad luminous plane to make that architecture legible, while preserving the distinction between a disk around a star and rings around a planet. Catalog quantities and their individual sources accompany the image. [1]
The illustrated viewpoint
Tall silver-blue humanoid with a narrow split cranial crest in meditation. An open mountain courtyard on an invented moon of beta Pictoris b. The moon, terrain, atmosphere, open courtyard, warrior and relief are fictional. The broad dust structure is circumstellar, not a ring around the parent planet. Its visible brightness and viewing angle are enhanced for the composition. The giant's muted thermal coloring is an artistic translation rather than a calibrated eye-view. Neither moon stability nor a particular orbital phase is modeled.
The moon, terrain, atmosphere, open courtyard, warrior and relief are fictional. The broad dust structure is circumstellar, not a ring around the parent planet. Its visible brightness and viewing angle are enhanced for the composition. The giant's muted thermal coloring is an artistic translation rather than a calibrated eye-view. Neither moon stability nor a particular orbital phase is modeled. All beings and cultures are fictional. Apparent sizes, phases and exposure are artistic, not a calibrated sky simulation. Cosmic connection is a visual theme, not an observed biological mechanism.
Catalog measurements & sources
Host: bet Pic. Snapshot: 25 September 2026. Errors, limits and source provenance are retained. Calculated values and model estimates are not direct measurements. Unknown is not zero; equilibrium temperature is not surface temperature.
| Quantity / unit | Value / reported errors | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Radius · Earth radii | 18.4948 (+0.67254 / -0.67254) | Currie et al. 2013 |
| Mass · Earth masses | 2765.11 (+826.354 / -794.571) | Sutlieff et al. 2026 |
| Density · g/cm³ | 2.4 | Calculated Value |
| Orbital period · days | 8682 (+55 / -58) | Sutlieff et al. 2026 |
| Orbital semimajor axis · AU | 10.07 (+0.03 / -0.03) | Sutlieff et al. 2026 |
| Eccentricity | 0.105 (+0.004 / -0.003) | Sutlieff et al. 2026 |
| Inclination · degrees | 88.993 (+0.01 / -0.011) | Sutlieff et al. 2026 |
| Irradiation · Earth flux | 0.0885 | Calculated Value |
| Equilibrium temperature · K | 1612 (+38 / -38) | Currie et al. 2013 |
| Stellar effective temperature · K | 8038.68 | Wang et al. 2016 |
| Stellar radius · Solar | 1.54416 | Wang et al. 2016 |
| Stellar mass · Solar | 1.789 (+0.024 / -0.027) | Sutlieff et al. 2026 |
| Stellar luminosity · log Solar | 0.95282 | Wang et al. 2016 |
| Stellar age · Gyr | 0.023 (+0.008 / -0.008) | Sutlieff et al. 2026 |
| Stellar metallicity · dex | -0.21 (+0.03 / -0.02) | Swastik et al. 2021 |
| Distance · pc | 19.7442 (+0.132 / -0.1303) | TICv8 |