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We used to wonder if there were planets exterior our solar organization, and today the reply to that is a resounding "yep." Even with our absolutely crude detection methods, scientists have identified thousands of exoplanets. We had every reason to expect those planets would accept moons, merely we had no way of knowing until now. Astronomers from Columbia University report they are close to confirming the first e'er exomoon.

Astronomers David Kipping and Alex Teachey spotted the potential moon while studying a solar system iv,000 light years away. The data gathered by Kepler tracks dips in brightness of the solar system'due south sun every bit objects pass in front of information technology. If these dips happen with predictable regularity, in that location's a strong possibility they're acquired by a planet. They spotted something unusual in the data, though. There was an extra bleep that could indicate a large moon.

Kepler has been collecting data for years, and researchers have thoroughly analyzed non all of information technology. Kipping and Teachey were looking through a collection of 284 exoplanets that had been identified as stiff candidates for moon formation. They were all larger planets, which would accept pulled in more surrounding fabric to increase the likelihood of moon formation. They were also far out from their stars considering migrating inwards could knock moons out of orbit.

Out of all those planets, Kepler-1625b presented the all-time chance for spotting an exomoon. The Kepler data wasn't articulate plenty to be sure, and so the pair got time on NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. Equally the planet made its 19-hour solar transit, Hubble recorded effulgence data for the star. After Kepler-1625b finished its transit, Hubble spotted a 2d, smaller dip that Kipping and Teachey believe is the planet's moon. There's besides some evidence the moon affects the planet's orbit — it started the transit about an hour earlier than expected, possibly thank you to a tug-o-war with the moon.

Kepler has spotted many exoplanets, and at present maybe a moon.

It's more hard to confirm an exomoon than an exoplanet. The planets have identical transit characteristics every orbit, just an exomoon will vary based on where it is in its orbit of the planet. If Kepler-1625b does accept a moon, Kipping and Teachey judge information technology would be quite large. Kepler-1625b itself is around the size of Jupiter, and the moon is about the size of Neptune.

We may need to wait for a new generation of planet-hunting instruments to know for sure if Kepler-1625b has the first exomoon. The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) isn't designed to look at objects that far abroad, and the James Webb Space Telescope is delayed until at least 2022. Some upcoming footing-based observatories might take enough power to verify or refute the claims sooner.

Now read: Astronomers Find Exoplanet In the Aforementioned Place every bit Star Trek's Vulcan, Kepler Spacecraft Wakes Upwards to Brainstorm New Observations, and Scientists Say Some Ultrahot Exoplanets Have Star-Like Atmospheres