JWST search finds no exomoon evidence around TOI-700 d and e

3 articles · Updated · Universe Today · Apr 25

Researchers from MIT, Harvard, and University of Chicago used JWST to study TOI-700, 100 light years away, but stellar 'red noise' masked potential exomoon signals.
The noise, caused by stellar granulation, produced a 46 ppm signal, overwhelming the 20 ppm dip expected from a Luna-like exomoon. JWST did, however, greatly refine planetary orbits and radii.
The study highlights ongoing challenges in exomoon detection due to stellar variability, but suggests that improved noise-reduction algorithms could reveal hidden moons in existing JWST data.

Can new AI algorithms reveal the exomoons already hidden in JWST's noisy data?

Is the 'wobble' method a better tool than transit searches for discovering distant exomoons?

If a star's boiling surface hides its moons, how can we ever hope to find them?

Could habitable oceans exist on moons orbiting sunless, free-floating rogue planets?

How essential is a large moon, like our own, for a planet to develop complex life?