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IS THIS GIANT CELESTIAL BODY A MOON, A PLANET OR SOMETHING IN BETWEEN?
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/is-this-giant-celestial-body-a-moon-a-planet-or-something-in-between-the-strange-object-calls-astrononomical-labels-into-question-180989183/
A newly discovered celestial object seems to blur the line between planet and moon, leaving some astronomers puzzled over what to call it.
Scientists have found thousands of exoplanets—those beyond our solar system—since the first two were discovered in 1992. But moons orbiting those distant planets have remained elusive, even though astronomers suspect that many exist. Now, they’ve found something that might be even stranger.
Astronomers have spotted an object estimated to be roughly as massive as Jupiter. Oddly, it orbits a brown dwarf—a “failed star”—which in turn orbits a small star. This unusual three-tiered hierarchy was seen in a star system called CD-35 2722 that’s located about 73 light-years from Earth. The findings, reported in the journal Nature on July 22, highlight the diversity of objects in the universe and forces some astronomers to rethink astronomical labels.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/is-this-giant-celestial-body-a-moon-a-planet-or-something-in-between-the-strange-object-calls-astrononomical-labels-into-question-180989183/
A newly discovered celestial object seems to blur the line between planet and moon, leaving some astronomers puzzled over what to call it.
Scientists have found thousands of exoplanets—those beyond our solar system—since the first two were discovered in 1992. But moons orbiting those distant planets have remained elusive, even though astronomers suspect that many exist. Now, they’ve found something that might be even stranger.
Astronomers have spotted an object estimated to be roughly as massive as Jupiter. Oddly, it orbits a brown dwarf—a “failed star”—which in turn orbits a small star. This unusual three-tiered hierarchy was seen in a star system called CD-35 2722 that’s located about 73 light-years from Earth. The findings, reported in the journal Nature on July 22, highlight the diversity of objects in the universe and forces some astronomers to rethink astronomical labels.
