![Evolution of impact-generated debris for the high-velocity impact cases. Rows correspond to different impact scenarios with varying orbital periods (Porb) and impact velocities (vimp), as labeled. Columns show snapshots at 0.35, 2.65, 14.69, and 18.05 hr after impact. Particles are shown in a midplane slice with |z| < 0.1 R⊕, and colors indicate material origin and composition. In the 2.65 and 14.69 hr snapshots, particles are additionally highlighted according to their final fate, identifying those incorporated into the disk and those that later escaped from the system.-- [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/A-Formation.png?resize=1200%2C716&ssl=1)
[astro-ph.EP] Massive moons around rocky exoplanets are expected outcomes of giant impacts, yet no exomoon has been securely confirmed.
Exomoon
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets
New Exomoon Detection Challenges Cosmic Labels
[ESO] Observations made with the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (ESO’s VLT) have revealed evidence for a moon-like object in the CD-35 2722 system. Unlike moons in our Solar […]
![Orbital trajectories of two example scattering experiments. Left: An interaction that results in a free-floating planet-moon pair. Right: An interaction that results in a free-floating planet and a separate free-floating moon. The starting points of the bodies are indicated by the black dots. -- [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Planet-moon.png?resize=1200%2C720&ssl=1)
Posted inStellar Cartography
Planet-moon Ejections In Close Stellar Encounters
[astro-ph.EP] Free-floating planet-moon pairs (FFPMs) may form when planetary systems experience close stellar encounters.
![The lifetime of the system with respect to the innermost orbit P1 is plotted on a logarithmic scale for two Luna-mass moons. Alongside the maximum eccentricity reached by each moon is plotted (color-coded). The black-dashed line marks the βmax calculated earlier in the Eqn. (5). The gray dashed lines and labels indicate the MMR locations predicted using Eqn. (15). -- [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Tidal-evolution.png?resize=1200%2C719&ssl=1)
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets
Tidal Evolution Of Packed Moon Systems Around An Earth-mass Planet
[astro-ph.EP] While missions have long targeted terrestrial exoplanets within the habitable zone of their host stars, the number of exomoon candidates is expected to grow as next generation space-based observatories […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes
A Scalable Path to Astrometric Exomoon Discoveries with the Nautilus Space Observatory
[astro-ph.IM] Moons orbiting exoplanets (exomoons) can be detected through the reflex motion they impart to their host planet, which is recoverable in relative star-planet astrometric time series.
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets
CARMApy: An Open-Source Python Framework for Simulating Microphysical Clouds in Planetary Atmospheres
[astro-ph.EP] CARMApy is a new open-source python code that performs bin-scheme microphysical modeling of clouds in exoplanet atmospheres.
Posted inAstropharmacy / Biotechnology, Beta Pictoris, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Upper Limits On Exosatellites Around β Pictoris b
β Pictoris b is one of the closest known directly-imaged gas giant exoplanets with an orbit that is almost edge-on to our line of sight, making it an ideal target […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Direct Imaging Constraints on Binary Planets and Exomoons around Epsilon Indi A b
Epsilon Indi A b is a directly imaged ∼6MJup exoplanet orbiting a nearby (3.6 pc) K-dwarf at ∼30 AU.
Posted inAstrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Enceladus, Europa, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Icy Worlds, Io, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Status Report, Triton, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Active Moons In Our Solar System And Beyond — Io, Europa, Enceladus, Triton, and Exomoons
The outgassing signatures of Io, Europa, Enceladus, Triton, and Io-like exomoons are the focus of this review chapter. The rocky volcanic world of Io is unique in our Solar System, […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Astronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Stellar Cartography
The JWST Search For Earth-Luna Analogs: Upper Limits On Exomoons And Refined Ephemerides For TOI 700 d And e
While no conclusive detections of exomoons have been reported to date, planet formation theories predict that satellites should be a common outcome of the collisional dynamics in early extrasolar systems.