Scientists detect first direct radio signal from planet beyond solar system

Scientists have detected radio emissions from a planet beyond our Solar System for the first time.

Astronomers have detected what researchers say is the first direct radio signal from a planet outside the solar system, marking a potential breakthrough in studying distant worlds and their magnetic fields.

According to the New York Post, astrophysicists from Harvard and the University of Oregon traced bursts of radio emissions to Beta Pictoris b, a massive gas giant about 64 light-years from Earth.

Researchers used South Africa’s MeerKAT radio telescope array to distinguish the signal from emissions produced by the planet’s host star. The team believes the radio bursts are generated by powerful auroras.

Beta Pictoris b is about 12 times more massive than Jupiter. Researchers also estimated its magnetic field at approximately 1,250 gauss, compared with Jupiter’s 4.3 gauss.

The findings, which have not yet undergone peer review, could provide scientists with a new method for examining magnetic fields around other giant exoplanets and assessing how such fields protect planetary atmospheres from erosion over time.