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Astronomers may have discovered the 1st moon outside of our solar system - or is it something weirder?
Space • • general
Key Points:
- Astronomers have discovered a new object orbiting the brown dwarf in the CD-35 2722 star system, located about 73 light-years away, which could be an exomoon or challenge current definitions of moons and planets.
- The object orbits a brown dwarf, a "failed star" with a mass between that of the largest gas giant planets and the smallest stars, complicating its classification as it does not orbit a star directly.
- Researchers describe the object as a massive exosatellite, possibly a planet-sized body orbiting another massive companion, blurring traditional distinctions between planets, moons, and stars.
- While the discovery marks the first confirmed detection of an exosatellite, the team emphasizes that more precise definitions are needed to classify it definitively as an exomoon.
- The findings were published on July 22 in the journal Nature, highlighting the challenges in categorizing celestial bodies beyond our solar system.
