Astronomers have been discovering exoplanets for over two decades now. Several exoplanets have been identified to orbit around the stars and in the cosmos. Some of these smaller planets are smoldering hot while others come in the size of Jupiter. Yet, some are near the size of the Earth, while some are covered in ice.
There are indeed a number of exoplanets that live within the habitable region of the solar system. This is where the environments are not too hot nor too cold that water can exist. In fact, there has been a great number of discovered planets orbiting the galaxy. The newly found ones have been announced and they come in several batches. The discovery of exoplanets became a common endeavor.
Just recently, however, scientists announced the discovery of an exomoon. This time, it is a moon orbiting another planet that's around another star. Its distance is about a thousand lightyears away from the Earth. The researchers of the new study are both scientists from Columbia University. The scientists stated that their study has only found traces of the existence of a new moon, but they have yet to find where it is.
To be able to confirm their discovery, the scientists needed someone else to replicate what they did. Two separate teams worked on the data they have on hand. One of the groups could only replicate half of the evidence on hand while the other one has confirmed they found the same signals as the data reported, but they have yet to confirm that there is indeed another moon. For now, the existence of what is believed to be an exomoon is yet to be confirmed.
"Frankly, there is nothing that could identify who is right," says Alex Teachey, a Columbia graduate who also worked as the lead author in the first study. The astronomers said that if the moon were truly in existence, it would likely come in the size of Neptune. It would probably be made of gas. "It looks strange but it is convincing too," Kippling said.
"Eventually, maybe someone in the future will be able to prove it at a time when such studies become cheaper and more affordable for the governments to conduct. What I'm sure of now is that such exomoon won't remain a mystery forever," Teachey says.
