Astronomers have discovered what might be an exomoon – a moon outside our solar system. This would be the first such ever found.
The moon, estimated to be about the size of our planet Neptune, was found in orbit around a gigantic gas planet 8,000 light-years from Earth.
Although moons are common in our system — we have about 200 natural satellites — the long search for interstellar moons has been an empty one. Astronomers have located some exoplanets, but moons are harder because they’re smaller.
Scientists are hesitant to confirm that their new find is actually a moon due to some of its peculiarities and the fact that they need to do some more observation, but the finding is intriguing and promising.
The possible moon, which orbits a giant exoplanet called Kepler-1625b, is incredibly large. It’s comparable to our own gas giant Neptune. There’s no analog for such a large moon in our own solar system.
What do you think about exomoons?
