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Artist’s Illustration of Kepler-1625 System
Artist's Illustration of Possible Moon Outside Our Solar System
This is an artist's illustration of the gas giant planet Kepler-1625b and a suspected accompanying moon. Estimated to be as big as the planet Neptune, the moon is unlike anything found inside our solar system. It might have formed through a different process than known for the solar system's nearly 200 moons.
The planet and moon orbit the star Kepler-1625, located 8,000 light-years away in the constellation Cygnus. The parent star is similar to our Sun, and the planet and moon are located in its habitable zone where temperatures allow for liquid water to remain stable. However, both worlds are gaseous bodies and not suitable for life as we know it.
NASA's Hubble and Kepler space telescopes uncovered tantalizing evidence for the moon's existence, but further confirming observations are needed. Hubble couldn't photograph the moon because it is too far away. But its presence was deduced by watching how the moon blocks a little light from the star when it passes in front of it. Researchers caution that further Hubble observations are needed to confirm the moon's existence.
- Release DateOctober 3, 2018
- Science ReleaseAstronomers Find First Evidence of Possible Moon Outside Our Solar System
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Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov
