Exoplanet spin measured for first time
Eight-hour day on Beta Pictoris b is shorter than day of any planet in our solar system
![](https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/cc_exoplanet_free.png?fit=860%2C460&ssl=1)
AS THE WORLD TURNS On Beta Pictoris b (upper right, in an artist’s illustration), a day is just over eight hours long. The exoplanet spins almost twice as fast as Jupiter does (when measured at the equator). The exoplanet’s spin continues a trend seen in our solar system: More massive planets spin faster.
I. Snellen/Leiden Observatory, adapted by S. Egts