The Beta Pictoris Moving Group is an important object for astronomical study as it is the closest youthful group of stars to the Earth. The star Beta Pictoris is known to have a large disk of gas and dust, possibly a protoplanetary disk. There is also evidence of a young gas giant planet around the star. A free-floating planet has also been found in the moving group, PSO J318.5-22. The age and distance of the group makes it a candidate for directly imaging extrasolar planets.