Harvard, Oregon researchers detect radio waves from exoplanet Beta Pictoris b
A preprint study by researchers at Harvard University and the University of Oregon reports the first clear detection of radio emissions from a planet outside our solar system. The signal, picked up by South Africa's MeerKAT radio telescope, comes from Beta Pictoris b, a young gas giant several times the mass of Jupiter orbiting a star 63 light-years away. The findings have not yet been peer-reviewed.
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The researchers argue the radio signature matches theoretical models of intense magnetic-field activity rather than any artificial source, explicitly ruling out an alien origin. If confirmed, this could give astronomers a new tool to study magnetic fields on distant, young planets, which are otherwise hard to observe directly. Peer review will determine whether the interpretation holds up against alternative explanations for the signal.
- First reported detection of radio emissions from a planet outside our solar system.
- Signal traced to Beta Pictoris b, a young gas giant about 63 light-years from Earth, using the MeerKAT telescope in South Africa.
- Study remains an unreviewed preprint; researchers attribute the signal to strong planetary magnetic activity, not extraterrestrial technology.
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Published there as: “Scientists Detect Radio Signals from an Exoplanet for the First Time in History”
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