2016A&A...588A..34H

Beyond Earth-like planets, moons can be habitable, too. No exomoons have been securely detected, but they could be extremely abundant. Young Jovian planets can be as hot as late M stars, with effective temperatures of up to 2000 K. Transits of their moons might be detectable in their infrared photometric light curves if the planets are sufficiently separated (>=10AU) from the stars to be directly imaged. The moons will be heated by radiation from their young planets and potentially by tidal friction. Although stellar illumination will be weak beyond 5AU, these alternative energy sources could liquify surface water on exomoons for hundreds of Myr. A Mars-mass H₂O-rich moon around β Pic b would have a transit depth of 1.5x10^–3, in reach of near-future technology.