Ploonets: When a Planet's Moon Goes Rogue

Could moons around hot Jupiters, like the exoplanet shown in this artist's concept, be stripped from the planets they orbit? New research suggests the answer is yes, and the researchers have defined such objects as "ploonets." (Credit: ESA/ATG medialab) Astronomers can’t stop debating about the definition of a planet (see: Pluto). But one thing is for sure — there are a lot of objects that skirt the line between two types of cosmic bodies. Now, researchers are adding a new kind of bounda

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