The Beta Pictoris system is very young, only 20 to 26 million years old,[12] although it is already in the main sequence stage of its evolution.

Beta Pictoris c is currently the closest extrasolar planet to its star ever photographed: the observed separation is roughly the same as the distance between the asteroid belt and the Sun.

[22] Material from the Beta Pictoris debris disk is thought to be the dominant source of interstellar meteoroids in the Solar System.

This was done by measuring its trigonometric parallax: the slight displacement in its position observed as the Earth moves around the Sun.

[13] According to measurements made as part of the Nearby Stars Project, Beta Pictoris has a spectral type of A6V[2] and has an effective temperature of 8,052 K (7,779 °C; 14,034 °F),[2] which is hotter than the Sun's 5,778 K (5,505 °C; 9,941 °F).

[29] Analysis of the spectrum reveals that the star contains a slightly higher ratio of heavy elements, which are termed metals in astronomy, to hydrogen than the Sun.

The mass of Beta Pictoris has been determined by using models of stellar evolution and fitting them to the star's observed properties.

[8] The star's angular diameter has been measured using interferometry with the Very Large Telescope and was found to be 0.84 milliarcseconds, giving it an actual size 1.7 times that of the Sun.

Tracing the path of HIP 46950 backwards suggests that it would have been in the vicinity of the Scorpius–Centaurus association about 13 million years ago.

[35] However, HD 83058 has been found to be a spectroscopic binary and unlikely to have been ejected by the supernova explosion of a close companion, so the simple explanation for the origin of the Beta Pictoris cluster is in doubt.

[16] The debris disk around Beta Pictoris is seen edge-on by observers on Earth, and is orientated in a northeast-southwest direction.

[39] Several elliptical rings of material have been observed in the outer regions of the debris disk between 500 and 800 AU: these may have formed as a result of the system being disrupted by a passing star.

[44] Studies made with the NASA Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer have discovered that the disk around Beta Pictoris contains an extreme overabundance of carbon-rich gas.

[47] In 2003, imaging of the inner region of the Beta Pictoris system with the Keck II telescope revealed the presence of several features which are interpreted as being belts or rings of material.

Belts at approximately 14, 28, 52 and 82 astronomical units from the star were detected, which alternate in inclination with respect to the main disk.

[50] Olivine crystals can only form closer than 10 AU from the star; therefore they have been transported to the belt after formation, probably by radial mixing.

The first suspected collision occurred around 150 years ago and involved a mass between 1019 to 1021 kg, which translates to a body with a size between 100 and 500 km.

[53] The spectrum of Beta Pictoris shows strong short-term variability that was first noticed in the red-shifted part of various absorption lines, which was interpreted as being caused by material falling onto the star.

[21] Transient blue-shifted absorption events were also detected, though less frequently: these may represent a second group of objects on a different set of orbits.

[55] Detailed modeling indicates the falling evaporating bodies are unlikely to be mainly icy like comets, but instead are probably composed of a mixed dust and ice core with a crust of refractory material.

[57] Falling evaporating bodies may also be responsible for the presence of gas located high above the plane of the main debris disk.

[59] On November 21, 2008, it was announced that infrared observations made in 2003 with the Very Large Telescope had revealed a candidate planetary companion to the star.

[14][needs update] The European Southern Observatory confirmed the presence of Beta Pictoris c, on 6 October 2020, through the use of direct imagery.

Beta Pictoris c is currently the closest extrasolar planet to its star ever photographed: the observed separation is roughly the same as the distance between the asteroid belt and the Sun.

Current limits derived from this method are enough to rule out hot Jupiter-type planets more massive than 2 Jupiter masses at a distance of less than 0.05 AU from the star.

Multiple lines of evidence suggested the existence of a massive planet orbiting in the region around 10 AU from the star: the dust-free gap between the planetesimal belts at 6.4 AU and 16 AU suggest this region is being cleared out;[49] a planet at this distance would explain the origin of the falling evaporating bodies,[57] and the warps and inclined rings in the inner disk suggest a massive planet on an inclined orbit is disrupting the disk.

[15] It has an orbital period of about 1,200 days (3.3 years) and a semimajor axis of 2.7 AU, about 3.5 times closer to its parent star than Beta Pictoris b.

[73] In 2000, observations made with the Advanced Meteor Orbit Radar facility in New Zealand revealed the presence of a stream of particles coming from the direction of Beta Pictoris, which may be a dominant source of interstellar meteoroids in the Solar System.