When is an exomoon not an exomoon? When it orbits a failed star, not a planet
29 July 2026
Astronomers may have discovered the first moon, or satellite, outside the solar system, about seventy-three light years from Earth.
Plenty of exoplanets, planets orbiting stars other than the Sun, have been found, but this might be the first time a moon accompanying one of these bodies has been located.
But there’s a problem. The apparent exoplanet in question is a brown dwarf. These unusual Jupiter size objects often referred to as failed stars. But they are neither planet nor star.
That’s not all though. The brown dwarf hosting the would-be exomoon, is it self orbiting another star. The situation has scientists puzzled. From what I can understand, the moon of the brown dwarf has some substance. It is of a decent size. It is a real moon.
Quite unlike, for instance, the multitude of pebble-size excuses of “moons” orbiting Saturn.
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