Features

1. Beta Pictoris is ∼ 12 million years old and is located 19.44(5) parsecs (63.4(1) light-years) from the Sun.

2. It is surrounded by a protoplanetary disk of protoplanetary disk dust and gas. A gas giant may have already formed, and rocky planets may be forming.

3. In the image---which is hypothetical recall---a young rocky planet gaining mass by collision with an asteroid is shown just to the right of center. The rocky planet is dry and without a planetary atmosphere. It will likely??? acquire one later from the impact of water asteroids or other kinds of ice-rich asteroids.
   The asteroids referred to are probably better described as planetesimals and protoplanets.

4. A team of astronomers led by Aki Roberge used NASA's Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) space-based telescope to learn that the gas in the Beta Pictoris protoplanetary disk is extremely carbon-rich, much more so than expected, based on what is known about asteroids and comets in the Solar System.

5. The inset panels show 2 possible outcomes for mature rocky planets around Beta Pictoris. The top one is a water-rich planet similar to the Earth; the bottom one is a carbon-rich planet with a smoggy, methane (CH_4) rich planetary atmosphere similar to that of Titan, the largest moon of Saturn."

6. The above caption is somewhat edited.