Outrider Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 All right my first question and first thread all in one. I'm excited and hope you are too. After doing a search I see that no exoplanet moons have been confirmed but my question is could the mass of some planets be overestimated because it has one or more large moons. I assume if our earth is being detected by alien astronomers by the same techniques we use the extra mass of our moon wouldn't really matter all that much. But is it possible for two earth sized bodies to have a stable and close orbit or an earth sized body with several large moons. Could this account for at least some of the superearths? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phi for All Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 https://phys.org/news/2009-10-life-friendly-moons.html These guys are excited by a new technique where they watch a planet transit in front of its star. If they detect a wobble, it suggests the planet has an orbiting moon. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outrider Posted January 28, 2017 Author Share Posted January 28, 2017 Oh thanks Phil just what I was looking for. The article mentions that as they refine their techniques they should be able to estimate the mass of the moon. Here's hoping they find a binary earth system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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