Astronomers may have found the first exomoon(eso.org)
224 points by MarcoDewey 1 day ago | 82 comments
tl;dr: Astronomers using ESO's VLT with the CRIRES+ instrument have detected what may be the first exomoon—a Jupiter-mass object orbiting a brown dwarf (30+ Jupiter masses) that itself orbits the star CD-35 2722. The detection used the radial velocity method to spot wobbles in the brown dwarf, though the finding blurs conventional definitions since the "moon" is planet-sized and orbits a substellar object rather than a planet. Confirmation and detection of smaller exomoons will likely require ESO's upcoming Extremely Large Telescope.
HN Discussion:
  • Terminology debate: 'moon' is the wrong word since the brown dwarf isn't really a planet
  • ~The artist's impression misrepresents the actual size relationships between the objects
  • Fascination with brown dwarfs and the fuzzy line between gas giants and stars
  • Speculation about whether the exomoon itself could have satellites in orbit
  • Excitement about the discovery and future astronomical capabilities