Discovery of a volcanic moon around a planet outside the solar system – | RCO News Agency

According to RCO News Agency, quoted by Space, the solar system contains the most volcanic object known in the world, which is actually Jupiter’s moon called “Io”. Now, researchers at NASA’s JPL Laboratory in Southern California believe they have observed a similar object around a gas planet outside the solar system similar to Saturn, named WASP-49b. This planet is located at a distance of 635 light years from Earth.

They have observed the sodium cloud near this planet, which indicates the existence of a natural moon called “exomoon”. In previous researches, several candidates for extrasolar moons, including this one, were identified, but their existence was never confirmed. Signs of volcanic activity may be the key to detecting celestial objects that are too small and dim to detect with modern telescopes.

Researchers at the VLT observatory in Chile found that the WASP-49b distant cloud, like the gas produced by the moon Io above Jupiter, is far above the planet’s atmosphere. In addition, the sodium content of the cloud is very high, and sudden changes in the size of the cloud indicate that another object is orbiting the planet. WASP-49b and its star are composed of hydrogen and helium, with only a trace of sodium. But it seems that the cloud around the planet is supplied by another source that produces about 100,000 kilograms of sodium per second.

Another indication that this cloud is independent from WASP-49b is that this cloud does not coincide with the planet’s orbit (equivalent to 2.8 Earth days). Using computer models, researchers have shown that an extrasolar moon with an orbit of about 8 hours explains the reason for cloud fluctuation.

Of course, more research is needed to determine cloud behavior.