Study Finds 12%-15% of Rogue-Planet Moons Could Keep Oceans for Billions of Years
Updated
Updated · spacedaily.com · Jul 11
Study Finds 12%-15% of Rogue-Planet Moons Could Keep Oceans for Billions of Years
1 articles · Updated · spacedaily.com · Jul 11
Summary
A 2025 modeling study found about 12%-15% of simulated moons orbiting rogue planets could sustain subsurface liquid-water oceans for billions of years after their host systems were disrupted by a supernova.
All simulated moons stayed bound to their planets after the explosion, and some ended up on slightly eccentric orbits that generated enough tidal heating—roughly 0.1 to 10 times Europa or Enceladus estimates—to keep interiors warm.
At distances of at least about 10 planetary radii, the study said orbital eccentricity could persist longer than the Solar System’s age, extending the heat source even though the moons’ surfaces would remain frozen and dark.
No exomoon has been confirmed, and the paper does not show any real rogue planet-moon system or ocean exists; it argues only that such habitats are physically plausible under certain assumptions.
The result broadens habitability beyond star-lit zones by suggesting some starless worlds could preserve buried water and long-lived energy sources in interstellar space.