The first exomoon found?
Worlds without end: Scientists using data from the Hubble Space Telescope and Kepler have detected evidence that suggests the discovery of the first moon outside our solar system.
The data indicate an exomoon the size of Neptune, in a stellar system 8000 light-years from Earth. The new results are presented in the journal Science Advances.
…In 2017 NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope detected hints of an exomoon orbiting the planet Kepler-1625b. Now, two scientists from Columbia University in New York (USA) have used the incomparable capabilities of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope to study the star Kepler-1625, 8000 light-years away, and its planet in more detail. The new observations made with Hubble show compelling evidence for a large exomoon orbiting the only known planet of Kepler-1625. If confirmed, this would be the first discovery of a moon outside our Solar System.
The candidate moon, with the designation Kepler-1625b-i, is unusual because of its large size; it is comparable in diameter to the planet Neptune. Such gargantuan moons are unknown in our own Solar System. “This may yield new insights into the development of planetary systems and may cause astronomers to revisit theories of how moons form,” Alex Teachey, a graduate student who led the study, explained excitedly.
Like its moon, Kepler-1625b is also bigger than its counterparts in the Solar System. The exoplanet is a gas giant, several times more massive than Jupiter. It orbits its parent star at a distance similar to the distance between the Sun and Earth, which puts it — and its candidate moon — at the inner edge of the habitable zone of the star system.
The alien nature of this solar system should not surprise us. If anything, it is only a hint at the wild and exotic solar systems we have yet to discover.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
Worlds without end: Scientists using data from the Hubble Space Telescope and Kepler have detected evidence that suggests the discovery of the first moon outside our solar system.
The data indicate an exomoon the size of Neptune, in a stellar system 8000 light-years from Earth. The new results are presented in the journal Science Advances.
…In 2017 NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope detected hints of an exomoon orbiting the planet Kepler-1625b. Now, two scientists from Columbia University in New York (USA) have used the incomparable capabilities of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope to study the star Kepler-1625, 8000 light-years away, and its planet in more detail. The new observations made with Hubble show compelling evidence for a large exomoon orbiting the only known planet of Kepler-1625. If confirmed, this would be the first discovery of a moon outside our Solar System.
The candidate moon, with the designation Kepler-1625b-i, is unusual because of its large size; it is comparable in diameter to the planet Neptune. Such gargantuan moons are unknown in our own Solar System. “This may yield new insights into the development of planetary systems and may cause astronomers to revisit theories of how moons form,” Alex Teachey, a graduate student who led the study, explained excitedly.
Like its moon, Kepler-1625b is also bigger than its counterparts in the Solar System. The exoplanet is a gas giant, several times more massive than Jupiter. It orbits its parent star at a distance similar to the distance between the Sun and Earth, which puts it — and its candidate moon — at the inner edge of the habitable zone of the star system.
The alien nature of this solar system should not surprise us. If anything, it is only a hint at the wild and exotic solar systems we have yet to discover.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
The most preposterous claim I’ve read since Christine Margaret Blasey Ford ‘s testimony . We are to believe a 2.4 m telescope can detect a Neptunian size object 8K L.Y. distant ? Am I the only one on this site who actually owns telescopes and knows anything aperture / resolution.? I guess if its Nasa , it must be true. NASA , the poster child for deep state.sigh…
Orion – Scepticism is great and is just what is needed in science. We should always remember Sagan’s mantra, “Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.” I encourage you to write a letter to whatever journal is publishing this claim, laying out your objections in a polite fashion and requesting a reply. Any journal with any claim to be being scholarly would print your letter and the authors’ reply. Best of luck!
Moon!!?? Who are we to say it doesn’t identify as a planet! A super Jupiter and Neptune presumably orbiting about a common center of gravity can be called a double planet in my book. Like Pluto and Charon…ahhh, nevermind. If only there was a definition.
Haven’t read it yet, but fortunately, the Paper is available in it’s entirety at:
“Evidence for a large exomoon orbiting Kepler-1625b”
Alex Teachey and David M. Kipping
Department of Astronomy, Columbia University in the City of New York.
http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/4/10/eaav1784
Orion314,
There are a few ways to detect planets around other stars.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methods_of_detecting_exoplanets
Direct observation is one of them, but it is very difficult, and we are limited as to distance of the planet from us. We have yet to view many exoplanets using this method.
The early exoplanet identification, a couple of decades ago, were found using Doppler effects (radial velocity) of the stars due to the planetary orbital rotations. The sizes of these planets could not be determined, because the angle of their orbits relative to our line of sight was unknown, however they were reported by comparing them as relative to Jupiter times the sine of the unknown angle.
The Kepler mission found planets as they transited their stars. The light from the star dims as a planet passes between it and us. The amount of dimming gives us a size relative to the star, whose size can be estimated, thus allowing for an estimate of the planet’s size. Additional information can be gleaned from the data, such as spectroscopy that can give us information about atmospheres. However, the transit method of finding planets limits us to planets whose orbital planes pass through the Earth (plus or minus a small angle).
The final paragraph of the Conclusion Section:
“All in all, it is difficult to assign a precise probability to the reality of Kepler-1625b-i. Formally, the preference for the moon model over the planet-only model is very high, with a Bayes* factor exceeding 400,000.
->On the other hand, this is a complicated and involved analysis where a minor effect unaccounted for, or an anomalous artifact, could potentially change our interpretation.
->In short, it is the unknown unknowns that we cannot quantify. These reservations exist because this would be a first-of-its-kind detection—the first exomoon. Historically, the first exoplanet claims faced great skepticism because there was simply no precedence for them. If many more exomoons are detected in the coming years with similar properties to Kepler-1625b-i, it would hardly be a controversial claim to add one more.
->Ultimately, Kepler-1625b-i cannot be considered confirmed until it has survived the long scrutiny of many years, observations and community skepticism, and perhaps the detection of similar such objects.
Despite this, it is an exciting reminder of how little we really know about distant planetary systems and the great spirit of discovery that exoplanetary science embodies.”
[ *Bayes factor: a ratio of the likelihood probability of two competing hypotheses, usually a null and an alternative. The aim of the Bayes factor is to quantify the support for one model over another, regardless of whether these models are correct.]
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