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Space

JWST will officially begin searching for exomoons around other planets

Five exomoon programmes have been picked for the James Webb Space Telescope, raising the hopes of finding moons around exoplanets for the first time

By Jonathan O’Callaghan

5 March 2024

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The James Webb Space Telescope is the first instrument capable of detecting exomoons conclusively

NASA

Astronomers will have their best shot yet at finding exomoons – alien moons that orbit planets beyond the solar system – after efforts to look for them were picked for the next phase of observations with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).

Exomoons may be interesting locations to look for life, but no definitive detection of one has ever been made. JWST, which launched in 2021, is the first telescope in history capable of truly confirming their existence.…

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