JWST will conduct its first search for exomoons in October 2024, led by Columbia graduate student Ben Cassese and his advisor David Kipping. The observations will monitor the transiting Jupiter-like exoplanet Kepler-167e for over two days continuously, seeking the tiny additional dips in starlight expected as a moon system transits as well. JWST is the first telescope sensitive to Jupiter-like moons, and should even be able to measure the oblateness (how non-spheroidal) the giant planet is. These observations will greatly inform our moons form and evolve elsewhere in the cosmos.
