Elusive Exomoons: The Unpredictable Quest for Discovery

Researchers have found that the potential exomoons orbiting the exoplanets Kepler-1625b and Kepler-1708b are unlikely to be real. Detecting exomoons is extremely challenging due to their small size and distance from Earth. The analysis of millions of artificial light curves revealed that moonless scenarios better matched the observed data than exomoon scenarios. The difference in limb darkening between the Kepler and Hubble telescopes also played a role in the false positive signals. The study highlights the difficulty in detecting exomoons and suggests that only massive moons on wide orbits are likely to be detectable. Future missions like PLATO may provide more insights into exomoon discoveries.