Title of programme: Axis 3 - Where are the exomoons?
Abstract: During the past thirty years, astronomers have discovered many extrasolar planets (e.g., Batalha et al. (2013)) which has sparked an excitement in the community whether these exoplanets may host a detectable and/or a habitable satellite, so called extrasolar moon or exomoon. The technological and theoretical methods now allow the detection of sub-Earth-sized extrasolar planets and the first detection of an extrasolar moon appears feasible (Heller et al., 2014), but so far there is not a single case where the existence of an exomoon could have been demonstrated. Detecting the first exomoon would be a major discovery because moons can be new places for habitability Awiphan and Kerins, 2013; Heller and Barnes, 2013a; Heller, 2012, can play a significant role in the evolution of the host planets and can play a key role in stabilising rotation axis (as Moon does for Earth, Laskar et al. (1993)). Even though the mechanisms of moon formation are not fully understood, moons seem to be an outcome of planet formation and a presence of exomoons would provide invaluable information on the planet’s interior and formation process (Crida and Charnoz, 2012). To answer the question ”Where are the exomoons?” we would like to continue the search for them in the extended phase of the CHEOPS mission.
Temporal Coverage
2023-12-26T12:23:55Z / 2023-12-27T08:10:00Z
Version
3.0
Mission Description
CHEOPS (Benz et al., https://doi.org/10.1007/s10686-020-09679-4) is a European Space Agency (ESA) mission in partnership with Switzerland with important contributions to the payload and the ground segment from Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
The satellite has a single payload comprising an ultra-high precision photometer covering the 330 - 1100 nm wavelength range in a single photometric band. Observations are made as part of the Guaranteed Time Observing Programme that is formulated by the CHEOPS Science Team, and the Guest Observers Programme through which the Community at large can apply for CHEOPS time.
