Astronomers are staring at a nearby star in hopes of seeing a giant baby of a planet—perhaps accompanied by dust clouds, rings, or newborn moons—pass across its face. Last week, the newest and tiniest telescope joined the vigil, when the French-built PicSat rode into orbit on an Indian rocket. It will be able to continuously monitor the star, β Pictoris, until chances of seeing the once-in-20-year transit event diminish in a few months9 time. Astronomers are fascinated by β Pictoris, a bright star just 63 light-years away, because it is a natural laboratory for how solar systems form given its age of only 24 million years—an infant in stellar terms.

中文翻译：

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新生系外行星关注卫星和环

天文学家盯着附近的一颗恒星，希望能看到一颗行星的巨大婴儿——可能伴随着尘埃云、环或新生的卫星——从它的脸上掠过。上周，当法国制造的 PicSat 乘坐印度火箭进入轨道时，最新、最小的望远镜加入了守夜活动。它将能够持续监测 β Pictoris，直到在几个月内看到这一 20 年一遇的凌日事件的机会减少。天文学家对 β Pictoris 很着迷，它是一颗距我们仅 63 光年远的明亮恒星，因为它是研究太阳系如何形成的天然实验室，因为它的年龄只有 2400 万年——在恒星方面是一个婴儿。