Astronomers discover 1st-of-its-kind moon-like object orbiting brown dwarf CD-35 2722
Astronomers just spotted something wild: a giant, moon-like object circling a brown dwarf (a "failed star") in the CD-35 2722 system, about 73 light-years from us.
What's unusual? This "moon" isn't orbiting a planet. It's going around the brown dwarf itself, which makes it a first-of-its-kind find.
Exosatellite challenges planet and moon definitions
This exosatellite is so big it could almost count as a planet, but since it doesn't orbit a star directly, scientists aren't sure what to call it.
As team leader Kevin Hoy put it, "The exosatellite is clearly massive enough to be a planet, but it does not orbit a star, though it orbits an object that orbits a star."
Discoveries like this are making astronomers rethink how we define planets and moons.
With even more powerful telescopes on the way, expect more cosmic surprises soon!