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Evidence is Mounting That a World the Size of Neptune Could be Orbiting a Giant Planet Far, Far Away (nationalgeographic.com)

About 8,000 light-years away, a giant planet circles an aging star, marching once around its sun in a single Earth-year. But that planet, called Kepler 1625b, might not be traveling completely alone. From a report: Scientists now suspect the planet's skies are filled by an orbiting mega-moon, a stunningly large world the size of Neptune that may be the first moon spotted outside our solar system. Early hints of its existence surfaced in July 2017, when scientists tentatively announced that they'd found some evidence of an orbital companion for Kepler 1625b. But it wasn't until the Hubble Space Telescope aimed its eye at the faraway star a year ago that scientists were able to gather enough data to build the case for the so-called exomoon's presence. Now, the two scientists behind the discovery are hoping for independent confirmation of their finding to really shore up the extraordinary claim.

"I'm confident that we've done a thorough job vetting this thing, but I also anticipate there will be things other folks come up with that we might not have considered," says Columbia University's Alex Teachey, who reports the purported alien moon this week in the journal Science Advances. "Whether those other ideas are fatal to the moon hypothesis or not, that remains to be seen." For now, MIT's Sara Seager says she's reserving judgment. "Exomoons are one of the key items remaining on exoplanet researchers' wish list," Seager says. "It's exciting to see the hunt for the first exomoon continue ... and with what would be a shockingly large moon, about the size and mass of Neptune."

66 comments

  1. Getting there by 110010001000 · · Score: 0

    The fastest unmanned spacecraft achieved 0.023c. That means if we launched one today it would arrive in 34,153,732 years. Let's get to work.

    1. Re:Getting there by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Since many/most people don't do math/numbers 34,153,732 seems reasonable.

    2. Re:Getting there by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't understand why this is such a big deal or why anyone is surprised by this news. Of course there are large worlds orbiting even larger worlds out there. To expect anything less is pure insanity.

    3. Re:Getting there by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Right, everyone "knew" this to be the case, but the point is that we can now (sorta) detect them, which opens the door to other interesting kinds of observations and collection of science data.

      It isn't about being surprised by exomoons, it's about being able to detect exomoons.

    4. Re:Getting there by plopez · · Score: 1

      And like there's an entire universe in your fingers. Right there man. It's galaxies within galaxies. That where they come from. The blue people and why they're so short. Where's the pizza?

      --
      putting the 'B' in LGBTQ+
  2. That's no Moon by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    That's no Moon....

    1. Re:That's no Moon by Freischutz · · Score: 0

      That's no Moon....

      Is it? It certainly confronts whoever is supposed to decide how to define the term 'moon' with some very interesting questions. As far as I could discover in a 60 second web search, a moon is simply defined to be a celestial body that makes an orbit around a planet including dwarf planets, and minor planets. There are no size restrictions. It does undeniably seem a bit odd that this thing, which is something like 4 times bigger than earth, qualifies as a mere 'moon'.

    2. Re:That's no Moon by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      whoosh

    3. Re:That's no Moon by sycodon · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Oh man.

      What is our youth coming to?

      --
      When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
    4. Re:That's no Moon by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah. In California, bill C-23.178.4 specifies that every Star Wars sequel must
      use that line at least once somewhere in the dialogue. I think the problem was that
      the bill didn't specify the language, and as a result, the last two Star Wars installments
      had the line read in pig-Klingon so many non-devotee fans probably missed it.

      CAP === 'ramble'

    5. Re: That's no Moon by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sounds like a One Ring "Trilogy" idiot... Randall would be so elated to insult you hobbit boy.

    6. Re:That's no Moon by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      What is our youth coming to?

      Porn, mostly.

    7. Re:That's no Moon by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Probably not Princess Leia!

    8. Re:That's no Moon by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No no no! Go watch Star Wars Episode 4 (The first movie!) and then come back and reply properly!

    9. Re:That's no Moon by drewlake2000 · · Score: 1

      if only it was bill THX-1138

    10. Re:That's no Moon by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      Oh man.

      What is our youth coming to?

      Maybe they grew up a bit and started watching Star Trek instead?

      *Runs for cover*

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    11. Re:That's no Moon by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      We're just another day closer to https://www.xkcd.com/1262/.

  3. not with that additude! by Thud457 · · Score: 1

    Where are we going?
    Planet Ten!
    When?
    Real soon!

    --

    the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

    1. Re:not with that additude! by plopez · · Score: 1

      You insensitive clod! you beat me to it :)

      --
      putting the 'B' in LGBTQ+
  4. That's no moon.... by Indy1 · · Score: 2

    It's a space station.

    --
    Lawyers, MBA's, RIAA? A jedi fears not these things!
  5. Moon, no moon, that's not the important thing here by CharlesAKAChuck · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The important thing here is THIS IS HOW SCIENCE IS SUPPOSED TO WORK. "Hey, we think we found this thing. We're pretty sure, but we're not going to say anything definite until it's independently confirmed by other people. Here's the data we used, here's how we got it, and here's how we used it, now please someone else check this out and see if we're right."

  6. Boom or Whoosh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    There is no "arrive", only "flyby"

    No spacecraft we have launched so far has any way of "coming to rest" (relatively speaking) after getting up to that sort of speed.
    Other than direct impact, of course.

    1. Re:Boom or Whoosh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      There is no "arrive", only "flyby"

      No spacecraft we have launched so far has any way of "coming to rest" (relatively speaking) after getting up to that sort of speed.
      Other than direct impact, of course.

      Indeed. Those dumbasses at NASA and other space agencies are much too stupid to think of this. They would never, ever think to add anything like long duration retro rockets. Nope, you're the very first to consider that. How clever you must be!

  7. One Earth-Year? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I don't know about the journal Science Advances, but I do know that anytime I find an exoplanet with an orbital period of one year that I have forgotten to account for the orbit of Earth around the Sun.

  8. Planet X by schwit1 · · Score: 0

    Because PLUTO is still planet 9 and a giant mystery planet must be name “PLANET X.”

    And because X means 10.

    1. Re:Planet X by Scarletdown · · Score: 2

      Planet 9? Planet 9? Planet 9?
      (Backward masked...)
      Turn me on, Uranus. Turn me on, Uranus. Turn me on, Uranus.

      (Sorry, best I can come up with while baked.)

      --
      This space unintentionally left blank.
  9. Damn well could be a moon - it's the right size by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If it's bigger than Neptune, it's bigger than Uranus.

    And your moon surrounds Uranus. :-D

  10. Re: Moon, no moon, that's not the important thing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Followed by
    Media: we found a new moon!
    Trump: let's go see it in person, we'll be there in three years!
    Public: Trump just declared War on the New Moon!
    Stock Market: How can we use this to short some Tesla stock?
    China: we already have a base on this "new" moon, so stay away.

  11. And we shall name this planet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Urectum

  12. No, Planet XIII or higher by Roger+W+Moore · · Score: 1

    Because PLUTO is still planet 9 and a giant mystery planet must be name “PLANET X.”

    The problem with that is that if Pluto is classed as a planet then we already have planets 10, 11 and 12 and possibly more.

    1. Re:No, Planet XIII or higher by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So, there's over 100 chemical elements....

    2. Re: No, Planet XIII or higher by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And this huge moon will be known as Planet Xs Max

    3. Re:No, Planet XIII or higher by Roger+W+Moore · · Score: 1

      Yes, but without a lower size limit there are many orders of magnitude more "planets" and frankly it seems silly to call something the size of a pebble a planet just because it happens to orbit the sun.

    4. Re: No, Planet XIII or higher by jd · · Score: 1

      Why?

      Are you assuming some specific definition of planet? Because it's not going to be one planetary scientists recognize. If it were, you'd not be so sure.

      --
      It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
    5. Re: No, Planet XIII or higher by Roger+W+Moore · · Score: 1

      Pluto has the same current classification as these objects and at least one of them is larger than Pluto. Unless your definition of a planet is completely arbitrary it is going to either include or exclude all these objects.

    6. Re:No, Planet XIII or higher by Green+Mountain+Bot · · Score: 1

      The more the merrier!

    7. Re:No, Planet XIII or higher by Green+Mountain+Bot · · Score: 1

      How about something simple, and intrinsic to the body in question, like if it's large enough to achieve hydrostatic equilibrium?

    8. Re: No, Planet XIII or higher by jd · · Score: 1

      They're structurally different, have different composition and formed differently at a different time.

      So every intrinsic property differs.

      I don't need an arbitrary definition, just one by scientists.

      --
      It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
    9. Re: No, Planet XIII or higher by Roger+W+Moore · · Score: 1

      They're structurally different, have different composition and formed differently at a different time.

      So are the current planets so if you are going to suddenly start differentiating based on this you are clearly going to be using arbitrary constraints that are purely designed to let the current planets pass plus Pluto and reject anything else. This sorts of constraints are going to then be tied specifically to our solar system and will not work for any other. You are effectively classifying something by how you feel about it and then coming up with criteria to give you that result: that's nothing to do with science.

    10. Re: No, Planet XIII or higher by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, all existing planets are stratified, have a single solid or liquid core, formed at high energy and have heavy elements.

      No asteroid or comet can claim all of these. Indeed, no asteroid or comet can claim any of them.

      These constraints will apply to all solar systems because they define the nature of the objects. You can't have a rubble pile that formed at high energy and you can't have one that is large enough to reach Earth size. It doesn't matter what solar system that happens in.

      I cannot believe I have to post something so mindboggingly obvious.

    11. Re: No, Planet XIII or higher by Roger+W+Moore · · Score: 1

      No, all existing planets are stratified, have a single solid or liquid core, formed at high energy and have heavy elements. No asteroid or comet can claim all of these. Indeed, no asteroid or comet can claim any of them.

      ...and yet Ceres is an asteroid. It has a stratified structure, solid core and has heavy elements. So not only can an asteroid claim one of these it can claim all three.

      I cannot believe I have to post something so mindboggingly obvious.

      I cannot believe that you would post something so mindboggingly wrong.

  13. I swear I found one by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No bullshit, I honestly believe I may have found one while doing Project Discovery "research" in Eve Online. It was an obvious single planet orbit across all views, regular rotation, very predictable, except for a single, strong dip immediately adjacent to one of the orbits. It was either an exo-moon or a very small planet with a very long rotation. I tried to contact the researchers but got no response.

  14. Re:Getting there with NIGGERS! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I think you meant dad.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soXkFMO4ixI ?

  15. Re:he will seat himself in the temple of God by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    For this reason, God sends them a powerful delusion(operation of wandering)(planet) so that they will believe the lie.
    ipfs.io

    I watched that video of the eclipse on that site.
    So what? It was an eclipse.
    Are you implying that it wasn't real, but God, who never does anything, says anything, and is conveniently invisible, is real?

  16. Re:he will seat himself in the temple of God by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The red light of the chromosphere should not be visible in the blackness of the moon. It should only be (drowned out) in the light of the corona. But there is more, in the txt.

  17. Once in a Blue Moon by mcswell · · Score: 1

    If it looks anything like Neptune, then it's a blue moon.

    1. Re:Once in a Blue Moon by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 1

      I guess it's a smurf planet.

      --
      #DeleteFacebook
  18. Inevitable by jd · · Score: 1

    Probably a capture. But it's the density of the host planet - ten times Jupiter's - that is really interesting and being largely ignored.

    --
    It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
    1. Re:Inevitable by Agripa · · Score: 1

      Probably a capture. But it's the density of the host planet - ten times Jupiter's - that is really interesting and being largely ignored.

      Larger gas giants have greater densities so appear smaller than their mass would suggest.

      Capture requires a significant third body.

  19. Planets are a hoax by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    8000 lightyears away who believes this crap

    1. Re:Planets are a hoax by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes and no. See my other post.

  20. Plausible Options by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    a) These objects are shepherded by a large planet that we have not yet found
    b) These objects weer shepherded at one time by an object (star?) that passed through the solar system
    c) We're finding more objects with orbits that would support an unfound planet simply because we're looking more closely in that direction

    Any to add?

    1. Re:Plausible Options by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You know how I know you didn't read the summary?

  21. Gassy by Topwiz · · Score: 1

    If it is a gassy planet as they say, it should be called Taco Bell.

  22. Lars von Trier is worried now by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Melancholia!

  23. Moon? by DarthVain · · Score: 1

    I suppose this is where definitions start getting a bit muddy due to scale.

    However are they certain there aren't binary planets? I mean if you can have binary stars that orbit each other around a central pivot, why not planets as well? Again didn't rtfa so I don't know how massive the planet is to it's "moon", which I assume is how this might be defined at least for orbitary (word?) purposes...

    1. Re:Moon? by Agripa · · Score: 1

      I suppose this is where definitions start getting a bit muddy due to scale.

      However are they certain there aren't binary planets? I mean if you can have binary stars that orbit each other around a central pivot, why not planets as well? Again didn't rtfa so I don't know how massive the planet is to it's "moon", which I assume is how this might be defined at least for orbitary (word?) purposes...

      There is no agreed upon definition for binary planets. Under some definitions, the Earth-Moon system counts because the Sun exerts a greater force on the Moon than the Earth does. If the barycenter definition is used, then the Earth-Moon system will become a double planet in a few hundred million years.