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posted by LaminatorX on Friday April 11 2014, @01:27PM   Printer-friendly
from the XOXOXO dept.

New Scientist, on authority of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, reports that the first moon outside of our solar system may have been discovered.

It is not yet clear what double object MOA-2011-BLG-262 is: it may be a rogue planet with a massive moon about 1800 light years from Earth, or a faint star (brown or red dwarf) with a Neptune-sized planet much further away.

The discovery was made by telescopes in New Zealand and Tasmania during a micro-lensing event in 2011. Since the micro-lensing event is over and we don't know the distance of the double object, we can not distinguish between both possibilities.

(The discovery was published late 2013, but it is making mainstream news now.)

 
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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 11 2014, @01:32PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 11 2014, @01:32PM (#30029)

    Ok, got that out of the way. Continue.

    • (Score: 2) by Thexalon on Friday April 11 2014, @01:42PM

      by Thexalon (636) on Friday April 11 2014, @01:42PM (#30039)

      That's no moon, that's yo momma!

      --
      The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
      • (Score: 2) by davester666 on Friday April 11 2014, @06:07PM

        by davester666 (155) on Friday April 11 2014, @06:07PM (#30188)

        It's illegal to take an upskirt shot like this.

  • (Score: 2) by GreatAuntAnesthesia on Friday April 11 2014, @01:33PM

    by GreatAuntAnesthesia (3275) on Friday April 11 2014, @01:33PM (#30031) Journal

    Don't we normally get a pretty "artist's impression" picture with "exo-rock discovered!" articles? I'm afraid I'm one of those people who gets very excited at news of discovering news worlds , but soon feels an intense sense of disappointment when the best actual picture of it is a single red pixel in a big white splash from some space telescope somewhere.

    • (Score: 3, Funny) by oodaloop on Friday April 11 2014, @02:06PM

      by oodaloop (1982) <reversethis-{moc.ohoz} {ta} {ffonimakj}> on Friday April 11 2014, @02:06PM (#30053)

      At least the article title wasn't "Scientists Look Through Telescope. You Won't BELIEVE What They Find!"

      --
      Many Bothans died to bring you this comment.
      • (Score: 2, Funny) by physicsmajor on Friday April 11 2014, @05:43PM

        by physicsmajor (1471) on Friday April 11 2014, @05:43PM (#30171)

        "Scientists Look Through Telescope. You Won't BELIEVE What They Find! The Sixth One Brought Me To Tears..."

    • (Score: 1) by slartibartfastatp on Friday April 11 2014, @06:32PM

      by slartibartfastatp (588) on Friday April 11 2014, @06:32PM (#30198) Journal

      ...when the best actual picture of it is a single red pixel in a big white splash...

      When you're lucky. Sometimes it's just a fluctuation on some pixel's hue, just above 3sigma. Can't get any less exciting than that.

  • (Score: 2) by NovelUserName on Sunday April 13 2014, @03:39PM

    by NovelUserName (768) on Sunday April 13 2014, @03:39PM (#30777)

    As a scientist working in an unrelated field, I have to say the technology and expertise to make these measurements is mind boggling. I work with neural signals in behaving animals and have trouble with signal to noise when my electrodes are tens of microns away from my target cells. Detecting microlensing of light due to exoplanets that are thousands of lightyears away is truly amazing.