Eksokuu, a moon that orbits a planet or other celestial body outside our own solar system, has remained elusive despite the discovery of 6,000 outer planets, known as exoplanets. While moons are common in our solar system, the discovery of exomoons has been more challenging.
Recently, the James Webb Space Telescope made an indirect discovery of an exomoon orbiting a brown dwarf, which is not a planet but a dark “failed star”. Brown dwarfs are larger than Jupiter but have not begun a nuclear reaction to become a star, resulting in a dark celestial body. Webb detected surprising methane emissions from the brown dwarf known as W1935, leading researchers to believe that there may be a moon or moons orbiting the brown dwarf.
The presence of methane emissions on W1935 suggests that there may be a nearby energy source, possibly a moon interacting with the brown dwarf. Infrared modeling revealed that W1935 has a “temperature inversion”, warming the atmosphere from top to bottom, which was unexpected. The aurora borealis on W1935, similar to those seen on Jupiter and Saturn, indicates possible activity from a nearby moon.
However, the energy source for W1935’s aurora borealis remains unknown as it is not close to its own parent star. Moons orbiting large planets in our solar system have been known to generate similar phenomena through material emissions. Active moons like Io and Enceladus emit volcanic lava and water vapor into space, contributing to the auroras on giant planets. Further research is needed to confirm the existence of an exomoon orbiting W1935 for the first time.
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