Âé¶ą´«Ă˝

Space

First known exomoon could be a baffling monster the size of Neptune

By Leah Crane

3 October 2018

Exomoon

We have seen signs of a gas giant exomoon

Science Photo Library

The first moon orbiting an exoplanet is slowly coming into view. New observations from the Hubble Space Telescope have provided more evidence for an exomoon around a distant gas giant – and if it does exist, it is unlike any moon in the solar system.

In 2017, Âé¶ą´«Ă˝ reported that David Kipping and Alex Teachey at Columbia University in New York had spotted a possible exomoon in data from the Kepler Space Telescope, orbiting a distant planet called Kepler-1625b, which is thousands of light years away.

At the…

Sign up to our weekly newsletter

Receive a weekly dose of discovery in your inbox. We'll also keep you up to date with Âé¶ą´«Ă˝ events and special offers.

Sign up

To continue reading, today with our introductory offers

or

Existing subscribers

Sign in to your account
Piano Exit Overlay Banner Mobile Piano Exit Overlay Banner Desktop