The probationary detective work of the first - ever exomoons – moons orbting planets outside the Solar System – was forebode into dubiousness at the end of last year when scientists using a new detection algorithm said they could n’t get them . The exomoons have been at the center of plenty of drama over the five class since their potential breakthrough but the December paper appeared to have put an end to the saga . But a good saga can always come back with a sufficient twist .
The original discovery squad has come back with a new yet - to - be compeer - reviewed study rebut the rejection of the exomoons ' find and arguing the claim in December ’s enquiry are unseasonable . They say the exomoons are there and the problem is not with the data but with the detection algorithm .
Let ’s rewind . Back in 2018 , researchers herald the likely find of an exomoon around planetKepler-1625 b. Over 3,500 exoplanets – planet that orbit a virtuoso other than our Sun – had been found by then but this was the first - ever exomoon . The original datum hint the detection came from NASA ’s Kepler Space Telescope , a planet - trace telescope responsible for manyplanetary discoveries . The possible moon seemed to have played pelt and attempt in that datum , not appearing often , but a follow - up with Hubble deliveredmore datathat once again made the guinea pig for the exomoon .
Another potential exomoon was discover a year after by the same team , this sentence around exoplanetKepler-1708 b. Both candidate lunar month are vast , bigger than half the major planet in the Solar System , and orb an even bigger major planet . They are also the only exomoons find yet . Over 5,000 exoplanets have been found as of January 2024 , and yet still only two exomoons . Seeing as moons vastly outnumber planets in our Solar System , this is strange .
Both exomoons are also far away , respectively 8,200 faint - years and 5,500 light - year from Earth . The detections came from spotting the moons reducing the light of their asterisk by a lilliputian fraction as they passed in front of it , just as their planets were discover . It ’s an orb needle in a haystack . For this grounds , Dr René Heller and Dr Michael Hippke developed their algorithm to good lookup for exomoons . What they observe is abject statistical evidence for the presence of exomoons around these two man .
" We would have wish to confirm the discovery of exomoons around Kepler-1625b and Kepler-1708b , " Dr Heller at the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research said in astatementin December 2023 . " But unfortunately , our analyses show otherwise . "
Dr David Kipping and Dr Alex Teachey of the original uncovering lead the rebuttal paper . They argue that the data from Heller and Hippke for the moon of Kepler-1625 b also demonstrate the same potentially moon - like magnetic dip but that their analysis excludes it . For the synodic month of Kepler-1708 b , the team re - analyzed the data with the same parameters as Heller and Hippke , find once again the synodic month signaling with even serious confidence than before .
“ We conclude that both prospect stay practicable but surely demand further reflexion , ” they wrote in their preprint report .
So are the exomoons there or not ? We do n’t know . The novel cogitation certainly makes a strong case for not toss out that guess just yet .
The December paper was publish inNature Astronomy . The rebuttal has been submitted to the diary as a Rising Matter and is currently available on theArXiv .
