Using the recently installed Gemini Planet Imager ( GPI ) , we have taken the first H -band spectrum of the planetary companion to the nearby young star beta Pictoris .
GPI is designed to image and provide low-resolution spectra of Jupiter sized , self-luminous planetary companions around young nearby stars .
These observations were taken covering the H -band ( 1.65 microns ) .
The spectrum has a resolving power of \sim 45 and demonstrates the distinctive triangular shape of a cool substellar object with low surface gravity .
Using atmospheric models , we find an effective temperature of 1650 \pm 50 K and a surface gravity of \log ( g ) = 4.0 \pm 0.25 ( cgs units ) .
These values agree well with predictions from planetary evolution models for a gas giant with mass between 10 and 12 M _ { Jup } and age between 10 and 20 Myrs .