Planets and Moons  Universe  ID: 13087

Hubble Evidence of Possible Exomoon

Astronomers Find First Evidence of Possible Moon Outside Our Solar System

Neptune-Sized Satellite Orbits A Giant Jupiter Around a Sunlike Star

Our solar system has eight major planets, and nearly 200 moons. Though astronomers have to date found nearly 4,000 planets orbiting other stars, no moons have yet been found. That hasn’t been for any lack of looking, it’s just that moons are smaller than planets and therefore harder to detect.

The Hubble and Kepler space telescopes found evidence for what could be a giant moon accompanying a gas-giant planet that orbits the star Kepler-1625, located 8,000 light-years away in the constellation Cygnus. The moon may be as big as Neptune and it orbits a planet several times more massive than Jupiter.

Read the NASA press release at https://nasa.gov/press-release/astronomers-find-first-evidence-of-possible-moon-outside-our-solar-system

Find the science paper at advances.sciencemag.org/

Visuals are also available at HubbleSite.org.

Watch the scientists explain their research - https://youtu.be/eGjgD27Dtpc, https://youtu.be/vlcc2MdYaik
 

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Credits

Producer:
Katrina Jackson (USRA)

Editor:
Katrina Jackson (USRA)

Host:
Katrina Jackson (USRA)

Videographers:
John Caldwell (Advocates in Manpower Management, Inc.)
Rob Andreoli (Advocates in Manpower Management, Inc.)

Animators:
Leah Hustak (STScI)
Jessica Koynock (GSFC Interns)

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center