Analysis of the 69-micrometre spectral band of olivine crystals in the β Pictoris planetary system shows that they can be associated with an extrasolar proto-Kuiper belt, are rich in magnesium and make up about 3.6 per cent of the dust mass in the system — properties remarkably similar to those of olivine crystals from primitive comets in the Solar System.
- B. L. de Vries
- B. Acke
- B. Sibthorpe