Astronomers using the VLT have found evidence of a giant exosatellite orbiting a brown dwarf that itself orbits a star about 73 light-years away, with the candidate’s mass near Jupiter and an orbital period around 170 days. The discovery challenges traditional labels of planet, moon, and even star, prompting ongoing debate over nomenclature and definitions of exomoons as researchers describe the object as an exosatellite while many favor calling it a moon.

Science· Jul 22, 2026

Facts from Wikidata (CC0). Image by MPIA/V. Joergens via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0).

brown dwarf

type of substellar object larger than a gas giant

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brown dwarf· Science · 7 sources · Jul 22, 2026Story

Exomoon Candidate Reported Orbiting Brown Dwarf CD-35 2722

Science· Jul 22, 2026

Facts from Wikidata (CC0). Image by MPIA/V. Joergens via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0).

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About brown dwarf

Brown dwarfs are substellar objects that have more mass than the biggest gas giant planets, but less than the least massive main-sequence stars. Their mass is approximately 13 to 80 times that of Jupiter (MJ)—not big enough to sustain nuclear fusion of hydrogen into helium in their cores, but massive enough to emit some light and heat from deuterium fusion, 2H, an isotope of hydrogen with a neutron as well as a proton, that can undergo fusion at lower temperatures. The most massive ones can fuse lithium (7Li).

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