NASA’s JPL may have detected a volcanic moon near WASP-49 b, similar to Jupiter’s Io. This exomoon is located 635 light-years from Earth and one intriguing finding is a sodium cloud close to but slightly out of sync with the exoplanet.
The sodium cloud around WASP-49 b was first detected in 2017, and is one way that exomoons might be detected (volcanic activity). One possibility is that astronomers looking at another star system could detect a gas cloud like Io’s, even if the moon itself were too small to see. However, both WASP-49 b and its star are composed mostly of hydrogen and helium, with trace amounts of sodium. There just isn’t enough sodium to account for the cloud, which appears to be coming from a source that is producing roughly 220,000 pounds of sodium per second, thus leading astronomers to believe their could be a volcanic moon.
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As detailed in a new study published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, they found several pieces of evidence that suggest the cloud is created by a separate body orbiting the planet, though additional research is needed to confirm the cloud’s behavior,” said the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
