Using NASA’s Hubble and Kepler space telescopes, astronomers have uncovered tantalizing evidence of what could be the first discovery of a moon orbiting a planet outside our solar system. This […]
Exomoon
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Press Release
Traces of Exomoons in Computed Flux and Polarization Phase curves of Starlight Reflected by Exoplanets
Moons are suspected to influence rocky exoplanet habitability, and gaseous exoplanets in stellar habitable zones could harbour abundant and diverse moons to target in the search for extraterrestrial habitats. Detecting […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Press Release
Distant Moons May Harbor Life
In a paper published Wednesday (June 13) in The Astrophysical Journal, researchers at the University of California, Riverside and the University of Southern Queensland have identified more than 100 giant […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Press Release
UV Habitability of Possible Exomoons in Observed F-star Planetary Systems
In the present study we explore the astrobiological significance of F-type stars of spectral type between F5 V and F9.5 V, which possess Jupiter-type planets within or close to their […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones
Formation, Habitability, and Detection of Extrasolar Moons
The diversity and quantity of moons in the Solar System suggest a manifold population of natural satellites exist around extrasolar planets. Of peculiar interest from an astrobiological perspective, the number […]
Posted inEpsilon Eridani, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Io, Press Release
Using Radio Waves to Detect Exomoons
Scientists hunting for life beyond Earth have discovered more than 1,800 planets outside our solar system, or exoplanets, in recent years, but so far, no one has been able to […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones
Effect of Planetary Illumination on Climate Modelling of Earthlike Exomoons
From analytical studies of tidal heating, eclipses and planetary illumination, it is clear that the exomoon habitable zone (EHZ) – the set of moon and host planet orbits that permit […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones
Cosmological Aspects of Planetary Habitability
The habitable zone (HZ) is defined as the region around a star where a planet can support liquid water on its surface, which, together with an oxygen atmosphere, is presumed […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets
Detecting extrasolar moons akin to Solar System satellites with an Orbital Sampling Effect
Despite years of high accuracy observations, none of the available theoretical techniques has yet allowed the confirmation of a moon beyond the Solar System. Methods are currently limited to masses […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones
The Habitability of Exomoons
When we think of where else life might exist in the universe, we tend to focus on planets. But on a grander cosmic scale, moons could prove the more common […]