Exoplanets are seemingly easy to find these days, but their moons have been all too elusive -- at least, until now. Researchers at the
University of Notre Dame
claim to have spotted what may be the first exomoon. By looking for
gravitational effects on starlight, they've found a relatively small,
planet-like object orbiting a much larger object that isn't a regular
star. Don't be quick to reach any conclusions, however. The two astral
bodies are too far away from anything else in space to have an obvious
explanation; while we may be looking at an
orbitless planet
and its moon, both about 1,800 light years away, the pair could also
represent a failed star and an ordinary planet. Even if the objects
remain mysteries, though, the techniques used in their discovery should
help astronomers locating exomoons in the future.
