The young moon could be forming in the planet’s dusty disc
A young super-Jupiter could be cultivating its own set of moons. The planet, called GQ Lupi B, orbits 20 times further from its star than Jupiter does from the Sun, meaning that for the first time astronomers are able to clearly see the ring of dust around it using infrared telescopes.
Observations taken with the European Southern Observatory’s NACO infrared camera show the disc is cooler than the planet’s atmosphere. This could suggest the disc has a central cavity being cleared out by a growing moon. However to be certain, the team will have to wait for the soon-to-launch James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).
“JWST can take spectra at mid-infrared wavelengths,” says Tomas Stolker from Leiden Observatory, who led the research. “In doing so, we could learn much more about the physical and chemical processes in the disc of GQ Lupi B that may enable the formation of moons.” www.eso.org