Another lo in space? A cloud of gas hints at first exomoon bursting with volcanoes

A volcanic moon has just been discovered in space. Till now, the most volcanic system has only been known to exist in our solar system. Jupiter's moon lo is the most volcanic object in the known universe. A lava lake was also discovered a few months back.

Now another volcanic moon has been discovered, located beyond our solar system. Researchers from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California have found a similar object orbiting an exoplanet named WASP-49 b, which is about the size of Saturn. It is located 635 light-years from Earth.

The team noticed a sodium cloud in the vicinity of WASP-49 b. This was enough to suggest that a natural satellite, also known as an exomoon, was orbiting it.

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Multiple exomoon candidates had been identified in the past, including one near WASP-49 b. However, one has never been confirmed. Experts say that signs of volcanic activity may be the key to unveiling such objects since they are too small and dim to spot using modern telescopes, according to a statement from NASA.

"For example, Io, the most volcanic body in our solar system, constantly spews sulfur dioxide, sodium, potassium and other gasses that can form vast clouds around Jupiter up to 1,000 times the giant planet's radius," NASA officials said in the statement.

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"It's possible that astronomers looking at another star system could detect a gas cloud like Io's even if the moon itself were too small to see."

Cloud of gas above exoplanet

European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Chile saw that the cloud around WASP-49 b sits high above the planet's atmosphere. This was similar to the cloud of gas that Io produces around Jupiter.

The cloud was also found to be filled with sodium, was showing sudden changes in size and moving a lot faster than the planet. This hinted that it is a separate body orbiting the planet.

Meanwhile, both WASP-49 b and its star mostly contain only hydrogen and helium. But the cloud seems to be coming from a source that is releasing roughly 100,000 kilogrammes of sodium per second, NASA said in the statement.

"We think this is a really critical piece of evidence," Apurva Oza, lead author of the study and a staff scientist at the California Institute of Technology, which manages JPL, said in the statement. "The cloud is moving in the opposite direction that physics tells us it should be going if it were part of the planet's atmosphere."

The cloud also does not align with the planet's 2.8-Earth-day orbital cycle. However, more observations are needed to confirm the existence of the exomoon.