James Webb Telescope Can't Find Tiny Moons Around Exoplanets

Topic: Space

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has looked for tiny moons around an exoplanet and found none. A new paper shows how JWST can find these moons by looking at the same place repeatedly.

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a powerful tool that helps scientists understand the universe. It has been used to study many things in space, but one thing it hasn't done well is find tiny moons around exoplanets. These are called exomoons and they orbit other stars' planets outside our solar system.

A new paper by Dr. David Kipping from Columbia University shows that JWST can actually find these exomoons if it looks at the same place repeatedly. He analyzed data from JWST's observations of a planet called LP 890-9 c, which is located around 105 light-years away from us.

The problem with finding exomoons is that there is 'red noise' in the telescope's instrumentation or from the star itself. This makes it hard to detect any moon smaller than Earth. But Dr. Kipping showed that by averaging data from multiple transits, the sensitivity to detecting an exomoon increases significantly.

In this case, even with improved methods, no moons larger than 0.1 Earth radii were found orbiting LP 890-9 c. This means that any moon would not survive for long due to the strong gravitational tides from the star.

Why It Matters

This discovery is important because it shows us how JWST can be used to study exoplanets and their moons in more detail. It also helps us understand the conditions needed for life to exist on other planets.

Key Facts

• The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has looked for tiny moons around an exoplanet called LP 890-9 c, but found none.
• A new paper by Dr. David Kipping from Columbia University shows how JWST can find exomoons by looking at the same place repeatedly.
• The problem with finding exomoons is 'red noise' in the telescope's instrumentation or from the star itself.
• Dr. Kipping analyzed data from 12 different transits of LP 890-9 c to improve detection methods.
• No moons larger than 0.1 Earth radii were found orbiting LP 890-9 c.

Key Terms

Exoplanet

A planet that orbits a star outside our solar system

Red noise

Slow, wandering changes in the detector or from the star itself that can make it hard to detect small things

Implications

This discovery is important because it shows us how JWST can be used to study exoplanets and their moons in more detail. It also helps us understand the conditions needed for life to exist on other planets.