Ploonet | 18 Jul 2019

• Astronomers have defined a new class of celestial objects called "Ploonets," which are orphaned moons that have escaped the bonds of their planetary parents.
  
  • Planet + moon = Ploonet.
• The researchers explain that the angular momentum between the planet and its moon results in the moon escaping the gravitational pull of its parent.
• A new study suggests that the moons of gas-giant exoplanets may break away into their own orbits.
• As the gas giants move inward toward their suns, the orbits of their moons are often disrupted, according to new computer models.
• The scientists think these objects should exist in solitary orbits around their host stars and could even be discovered in observations from past and present exoplanet-hunting surveys, like Kepler and TESS.