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A28 SCIENCE
Thursday 4 OcTOber 2018

Have astronomers found 1st moon outside our solar system?

By MARCIA DUNN rule out other possibilities,"
AP Aerospace Writer Kipping told reporters. "But
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. we were unable to find
(AP) — Astronomers may any other single hypothesis
have found the first moon which can explain all of the
outside our solar system, a data we have."
gas behemoth the size of Their findings were pub-
Neptune. lished in the journal Sci-
Plenty of planets exist be- ence Advances.
yond our solar system, but The journal's deputy editor,
a moon around one of Kip Hodges, praised the re-
those worlds has yet to be searchers for their cautious
confirmed. Two Colum- tone, given the difficult
bia University researchers and complicated process
presented their tantaliz- of identifying an exomoon.
ing evidence for a moon "If this finding stands up to
Wednesday. further observational scru-
The potential moon would tiny, it represents a major
be considerably larger This illustration provided by Dan Durda shows the exoplanet Kepler-1625b with a hypothesized milestone in the field of as-
than Earth — about the size moon. tronomy," Hodges said.
of Neptune or Uranus. The Associated Press The Columbia astronomers
planet it orbits is as big as — "like a dog following its could completely shake up appear from far away. said they may be able to
mammoth Jupiter. This ap- owner on a leash," as Kip- our understanding of how This particular planet — or clinch this as early as next
parent super-size pairing of ping put it. The observation moons are formed and exoplanet — is about the year, with more Hubble
a gaseous moon and plan- period, however, ended what they can be made same distance from its star viewing. In the meantime,
et is 8,000 light-years away. before the moon could of," NASA's science mission as Earth is to the sun. they're encouraging other
Researchers Alex Teachey complete its transit. chief Thomas Zurbuchen Another planet could scientists to join in and em-
and David Kipping evalu- That's why the astrono- said in a statement. cause the same gravita- bracing the scrutiny that's
ated 284 planets outside mers need another look According to the research- tional nudge, the research- sure to come.
our solar system that had with Hubble, hopefully next ers, another compelling ers noted, although Kepler Whether confirmed or not,
already been discovered spring. piece of evidence in favor observations have come the subject offers insight
by NASA's Kepler Space Despite the evidence, of a moon is that the plan- up empty in that regard. into how rare — or how
Telescope. Only one plan- Teachey stressed "we are et passed in front of its star Kepler-1625b is the only common — our own solar
et held promise for hosting urging caution here." more than an hour earlier planet found so far around system might be.
a moon, one around the "The first exomoon is ob- than predicted. this star. Moons are abundant in
star known as Kepler-1625, viously an extraordinary A moon could cause that For Teachey and Kipping, our own solar system, with
which is about the size of claim and it requires ex- kind of an uncertain, wob- the best and simplest ex- close to 200.
our sun but older. traordinary evidence," bly path, they noted. planation is that Kepler- Of the eight planets in our
So last October, the pair di- Teachey said. Kipping said that's how the 1625b has a moon. solar system, only Mercury
rected the Hubble Space "Furthermore, the size we've Earth and moon would "We've tried our best to and Venus have none.q
Telescope at the star in an calculated for this moon,
attempt to verify — or rule about the size of Neptune,
out — the possibility of a has hardly been anticipat- In South Africa, endangered frogs get
moon orbiting the planet ed and so that, too, is rea-
Kepler-1625b. They were son to be careful here." another chance
on the lookout for a sec- He added: "We're not
ond temporary dimming cracking open Cham- JOHANNESBURG (AP)
of starlight. The main dip in pagne bottles just yet on — Conservationists are
stellar brightness would be this one." monitoring some 200 en-
the planet itself crossing in If indeed a moon, it would dangered frogs that were
front of its star. Another dip be about 2 million miles (3 released along South Afri-
could well be a moon — million kilometers) from its ca's coastline after a cap-
known as an exomoon out- planet and appear twice tive-breeding program at
side our solar system. as big in its sky, as the moon the Johannesburg Zoo.
The more powerful and does in ours. The release last month of
precise Hubble telescope The astronomers are un- the Pickersgill's reed frogs
detected a second and certain how this potential happened in KwaZulu-
smaller decrease in starlight moon might have formed, Natal province, where the
3 ½ hours after the planet given its size. species' wetland habitat
passed in front of the star "If confirmed, this finding along the Indian Ocean
coast has come under se-
vere pressure from human
development. In this photo taken Thursday, Sept. 13, 2018, a Pickersgill's reed
The Endangered Wild- frog during a captive breeding period at the Johannesburg
life Trust, a South African Zoo. Associated Press
group, will follow the prog-
ress of the frogs, which The Pickersgill's reed frog The species was among
were transported in plastic is about 2.5-3 centimeters those earmarked for help
jars by road to their new (1-1.2 inches) long. The after a fungus killed many
homes near the city of males are smaller than the amphibian populations
Durban. females. around the world in the
early 2000s.q