Get the latest Science News and Discoveries

Did JWST Find an Exomoon or a Starspot?


Searching for exomoons - moons the orbit around another planet - was one of the most exciting capabilities expected of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) when it launched in late 2021. So, after four years of operation, why hasn’t it found one yet? Turns out it’s really, really hard to find a moon around a planet light-years away. A new paper available in pre-print on arXiv from David Kipping of Columbia University (and Cool Worlds YouTube Channel fame) shows why. They used 60 hours of time on JWST’s NIRSpec instrument and weren't able to definitively confirm the existence of a possible exomoon.

None

Get the Android app

Or read this on Universe Today

Read more on:

Photo of JWST

JWST

Photo of exomoon

exomoon

Photo of starspot

starspot

Related news:

News photo

JWST spots a strange red dot so extreme scientists can’t explain it

News photo

The JWST Makes Some Headway Understanding Little Red Dots

News photo

An Explanation For The JWST's Puzzling Early Galaxies