First Ever ‘Exomoon’ Discovered Orbiting Planet Outside Solar System

Local Editor

Scientists reported the first ever discovery of a moon orbiting around an ‘exoplanet’ – a planet that exists outside of the Earth’s solar system.

Thousands of exoplanets were previously found by astronomers, with some suggesting they could possibly support life, but this is the first time scientists have ever found what they believe is a moon orbiting one of them, the newly-released study showed.

To make the discovery, the scientists looked at data from 284 exoplanets found by the Kepler Space Telescope and tried to identify anything unusual about their orbits.

After watching the planet, the researchers noticed that shortly after it passed in front of its star, there was a second dip of light, indicating that there was “a moon trailing the planet like a dog following its owner on a leash."

Supporting the evidence that this was a moon was the fact that the planet seemed to be passing in front of its star sooner than expected, which could happen due to a moon’s gravity, the scientists said.

The discovery was first announced reluctantly by the scientists in July 2017 after details were leaked on Twitter.

Further observations were then carried out with the Hubble Telescope and are detailed in the study, published in Science Advances.

The astronomers are still waiting for more data to confirm the finding and said that the behavior of the planet could, theoretically, also be caused by another planet in that system — but the prevailing belief is that a moon orbiting the planet is the most convincing explanation.

The planet and the moon are also in the “habitable” zone, which means they are close enough to their star to be given heat but not close enough to kill life instantly.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team