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This is an artist's impression of the exoplanet Kepler-1625b, transiting the star, with the candidate exomoon in tow ( Dan Durda ) Astronomers might have spotted the first ever "exomoon" orbiting around a distant world. Exoplanets – worlds outside of our solar system – are some of the most exciting discoveries in astronomy. Scientists have now found thousands of them, with some offering hope they could support life. But the new discovery would mark the first time that scientists have ever found a moon orbiting around one of those planets. And as well as being a thrilling discovery in itself, it could change our understanding of how solar systems form. "This would be the first case of detecting a moon outside our solar system," said David Kipping, an assistant professor of astronomy at Columbia and one of the two astronomers who found the moon. "If confirmed by follow-up Hubble observations, the finding could provide vital clues about the development of planetary systems and may cause experts to revisit theories of how moons form around planets." The new moon is far bigger than any of the nearly 200 natural satellites that have been found in our own solar system. It is comparable in size to its planets, roughly the same size as Neptune – orbiting a planet as big as Jupiter. The two are floating around their own star 8,000 lightyears away. Read more It was found in the same way that scientists discovered those thousands of exoplanets: watching for the small dips that happens when they move in front of their star, and working out from those how big it is and what its orbit might be like. They looked at data from 284 planets found in that way by the Kepler Space Telescope and tried to find those that had anything strange about their orbits. One of those planets, known as Kepler 1625b, seemed to be behaving strangely. "We saw little deviations and wobbles in the light curve that caught our attention," Kipping said. They watched the planet for some time, and noticed that soon after it passed in front of its star, there was another dip of light, which appeared to be "a moon trailing the planet like a dog following its owner on a leash". It also seemed to be passing in front of its star slightly sooner that might be expected, which would be consistent with the kind of wobble that would happen because of a moon's gravity. "An extraterrestrial civilization watching the Earth and Moon transit the Sun would note similar anomalies in the timing of Earth's transit," Kipping said. It is possible that the strange behaviour could also be caused by another planet in the system, and hope for further data from space telescopes to confirm their findings. But at the moment a companion moon is the most convincing explanation for the dip in the light and the change in the orbit, they said. Exomoons are so difficult to find because they are so small, and as a consequence the dip they cause in the light coming from the star is much weaker than a larger planet. Their orbits also shift as they move around their star, because they orbiting their planet. The new moon was probably found first because its larger size made it easier to see. Both of the planets are within the habitable zone, where they are close enough to their star to get heat and support life but not so close that it would be killed by the intensity. But both planets are gaseous and so are unlikely to support life. The gaseous nature of the planet also lead to questions about where its Moon might have come from. Our Moon, for instance, is thought to have been formed when an earlier collision shot off material that would go on to become the rock we see today, but that could not happen if the two objects are made up of gas.

The Paris auto show began on Tuesday October 2. Talking to executives at the event has given us a better idea as to what new cars to expect, and when. We’ve then married up that information with our collection of exclusive renderings of how future cars may look, together with spyshots of all the hottest new cars, when we don’t have pictures of the final cars available.

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European Union lawmakers have voted today for car makers to reduce their CO2 emissions by 40% by 2030, and by 20% by 2025. The European Commission previously legislated that a 30% reduction must be achieved by 2021. The targets are for a manufacturer's fleet average, calculated across all the models they sell. The stringent targets will effectively for them to put a major emphasis on zero emission cars such as electric vehicles. The EU said these targets can be met through an accelerated pick-up of EVs, and that new cars with CO2 emissions of 50g/km or less must make up 20% of sales by 2025 and 35% by 2030. A previous fleet average target of 66g/km by 2030 was widely criticised by the car industry and described by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) as "aggressive when we consider the low and fragmented market penetration of alternatively powered vehicles across Europe to date". Rapporteur of today’s EU vote, Miriam Dalli, said: “Achieving the European Parliament’s support for a 40% CO2 emissions target by 2030 was no mean feat and I am proud of the successful result achieved. Equally important is the 20% emissions target for 2025. The targets are particularly challenging because of the recent introduction of the tougher WLTP emissions test procedure, which means that car firms have had to cut real-world emissions simply to achieve the same fleet average as under the old NEDC test. Find an Autocar car review SEARCH Driven this week skoda fabia estate front 3 OCTOBER 2018 FIRST DRIVE Skoda Fabia Estate SE L 1.0 TSI 2018 UK review Facelifted Fabia Estate makes a strong case for itself on the grounds of its... Volkswagen Arteon 2018 long-term review hero front 3 OCTOBER 2018 FIRST DRIVE Volkswagen Arteon long-term review Is this a shrewd, lower-cost route to sleek four-door luxury motoring? Let’s... Ariel Atom 4 2018 first drive review hero front 2 OCTOBER 2018 FIRST DRIVE Ariel Atom 4 2018 review Ariel's simple, purist concept remains but virtually everything else –... “This legislation goes beyond reducing harmful emissions and protecting the environment. It looks at setting the right incentives for manufacturers; it encourages investment in the infrastructure; it proposes a just transition for workers.” CO2 from road transport – the only sector across the continent where greenhouse gas emissions are rising – is of particular concern for lawmakers. This has been compounded by an growing number of cars on the road and the public backlash against diesel, with a rising percentage of petrol car registrations contributing to increased CO2 emissions. A total of 389 MEPs to 239 voted in favour of the legislation, which has been met with scepticism from ACEA. “We remain particularly concerned about the extremely aggressive CO2 reduction targets and the imposition of sales quotas for battery-electric vehicles that MEPs have backed," said secretary-general Erik Jonnaert. "Today’s vote risks having a very negative impact on jobs across the automotive value chain. “There is no guarantee that we have the right enabling framework in place to facilitate this sudden transition to electromobility. Consumers cannot be forced to buy electric cars, without the necessary infrastructure or incentives in place.” PSA Group boss Carlos Tavares, speaking yesterday at the Paris motor show before the vote, was critical of some MEPs from countries without major car production bases. He felt they were inclined to be more extreme in setting CO2 targets because they don't appreciate the roblems in countries with an industry to protect. “There is the problem with the superficiality of our society’s thinking," said Tavares. "These are complex issues which need very carefully crafted solutions.” Tavarares also called on the EU to appoint a "battery champion" to speed the move towards greater EV use. “All car companies agree we have to keep cutting emissions,” he said. "But it is a question of how fast. "We must draw a fine line between going so fast that we draw all battery supplies from Asia, the price goes up, and we price some people out of the market, or we go a little slower and source more locally. If we go too slow, we lose the competitiveness of our industry."

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The Mondial De L’Auto, held in Paris’s Porte de Versailles exhibition centre, traditionally features a host of new metal from some of the world’s biggest manufacturers. While this year’s show is slightly quieter than usual, there are still a number of significant new launches, including the new BMW 3 Series, the Mercedes-Benz B-Class, and the Skoda Kodiaq vRS. The Volkswagen Group used to try and dominate the motor show conversation with its ‘Group Night’ show within a show on the eve of a major motor show. In Paris, it’s hardly even turned up. How things change. Peugeot CEO Jean Phillipe Imparato says other carmaker's ideas of autonomous "boxes" transporting people to one place is "totally boring". He reckons that such technology should be used to enhance driving pleasure, not remove it entirely, citing the e-Legend concept as an example of that. Imparato also took a dig at other manufacturer's production delays due to WLTP legislation. "We didn't have to stop production, we didn't have to store stock, we didn't have to buy airports to park loads of unsold cars in. We were ready". We haven't verified it, but the Bugatti Divo may be the most expensive car at this year's Paris motor show with a base price of £4.5m. However, it has a significance well beyond that, as CEO Stephan Winkelmann told Autocar on the eve of the event. "If we want to turn some of our ideas into reality then the important thing is to show that we can widen our customer base - and this is what the Divo has done," he said, referencing the possibility of a second model line joining the Bugatti stable. Why did the development team behind the new BMW 3 Series head to Wales for testing during the car's development? BMW's driving dynamics boss Peter Langen is full of praise for the challenges the roads present - although not all for good reasons. "The roads in Wales are challenging - both for the contours and types of corners, but also sometimes the quality," he says. "The point is that if a car works on such challenging roads, then it will work anywhere. Wales can cover almost every type of challenge a car will face."

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Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro said on Wednesday he was willing to "shake hands" with his US counterpart Donald Trump "despite the differences". The socialist leader made an unexpected visit to the UN General Assembly in New York to "defend his country". Six nations have accused him of crimes against humanity, while Mr Trump has hinted at military action against Venezuela on top of existing sanctions. President Trump had earlier said he was willing to meet Mr Maduro. Venezuela crisis: A country in freefall Venezuela's leader Nicolás Maduro divides opinion Venezuela military option possible - Trump However the US leader also told journalists "all options are on the table" because "I want to see Venezuela straightened out". Venezuela has been in a dire economic crisis since 2014. An estimated 2.3 million citizens have fled hyperinflation, power cuts, and food and medicine shortages. What did Mr Maduro say? The Venezuelan leader took to the UN stage to say, "Despite the differences... I would be willing to reach out my hand to the president of the United States, Donald Trump, to discuss matters bilaterally." During his prolonged address, he stressed that he was "a worker, a driver, a man of the people" and "not a magnate". On Tuesday, the US treasury imposed financial sanctions on Venezuela's First Lady, which the socialist called "illegal unilateral sanctions". Mr Maduro, 55, also accused the US of "giving order to the rest of the world as though the world were its own property". The socialist leader repeated accusations that the US was also behind a drone attack in August - an action the US denies any knowledge of. The Venezuelan leader has been seeking a meeting with his US counterpart for almost two years.

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