The hunt for alien worlds
The leading candidates
The great exomoon debate
The future of alien moon hunting
YOUR GOAL
Master of The search for our first alien moon
007skaty Kepler-167e Exomoon Hunt
Searching Kepler-one-sixty-seven-e! (Oh-yeah!) Is that a little shadow we see? (Could it be?) Just wait for twenty-seven! (Oh-oh!)
007skaty The James Webb Space Telescope settles debates about disputed candidate worlds.
007skaty Finding these Earth-sized worlds requires combining the power of JWST and future giant ground-based telescopes to detect water
007skaty New space observatories use gravitational microlensing and light curves to locate distant moons
007skaty Steer your scout probe to discover how scientists hunt for the first alien moon.
Ocean worlds: Jupiter's moon Europa has more liquid water than all of Earth's oceans combined, making moons prime targets in the search for alien life.
A natural satellite that orbits a planet located outside of our solar system. Upcoming facilities like the Extremely Large Telescope in Chile will help astronomers detect much smaller satellites.
Why are astronomers highly interested in finding exomoons that orbit gas giants located in their star's 'habitable zone'?
If a planet and its moon both transit a star, what do we call the slight variations in the exact timing of the planet's transit?
What is the name of the European Space Agency's upcoming PLATO mission, set to search for transiting exoplanets and exomoons?
Which of Jupiter's moons, containing a massive subsurface ocean, serves as a prime local example of why we search for exomoons?
What is the name of NASA's upcoming wide-field space telescope, scheduled for launch by 2027, that will assist in finding exomoons?
What fictional, lush, habitable exomoon from the movie 'Avatar' popularized the idea of finding life on moons orbiting gas giants?
Which powerful space telescope, launched in late 2021, is currently our best hope for confirming or refuting these exomoon candidates?