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Natural Satellites

List of the Natural Satellites of Solar System!!

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INTRODUCTION TO NATURAL SATELLITES OF SOLAR SYSTEM

A satellite is anything that orbits a larger object. Natural satellites are a celestial body in space that circles a larger object. Moons are considered natural satellites since they orbit planets. Solar System contains at least 319 known natural satellites. Saturn is home to the majority of those moons, with 146 in total. Jupiter has the second maximum number of moons. The largest of these moons is Ganymede, one of the Galilean moons.

THE MOON

Moon (small ‘m’) refers to any big object that orbits a planet. The Earth has one moon, known as the Moon (capital ‘M’) or natural satellite. The Moon takes 27.3 days to orbit the Earth once, with an orbital speed of 1 km/s. In addition, other planets of solar system, like Mars has two moons, 95 for Jupiter, 146 for Saturn, 28 for Uranus, 16 for Neptune and five for dwarf planet Pluto.

LIST OF THE NATURAL SATELLITE OF EACH OBJECT OF SOLAR SYSTEM

MOON OF EARTH

Earth has only one natural satellite name as Moon. The Moon takes 27.322 days to complete one rotation around the Earth. This is owing to the moon’s elliptical orbit, an extended circle.

MOON OF MARS

Mars has to irregular natural satellites Phobos and Deimos. Asaph Hall, an American astronomer, found both in August 1877 and named them after the Greek mythical twins Phobos (fear and panic) and Deimos (horror and dread).

MOON OF JUPITER

Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system, has the second-most collection of moons. Jupiter has 95 known natural satellites. Ganymede, which is the largest moon of Jupiter as well as the solar system. It is larger than planet Mercury and dwarf planet Pluto. The four Galilean moons (Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto) are the most massive, having been identified independently by Galileo Galilei in 1610. Here is a list of all 95 known moons of Jupiter as of now, categorized by their groups:

Galilean Moons (4)

  1. Io 2. Europa
  2. Ganymede 4. Callisto

Inner Moons (Amalthea Group) (4)

  1. Metis 6. Adrastea
  2. Amalthea 8. Thebe

Himalia Group (Prograde Irregular Moons) (5)

  1. Leda 10. Himalia
  2. Lysithea 12. Elara
  3. Dia

Carpo Group (1)

  1. Carpo

Ananke Group (Retrograde Irregular Moons) (16)

  1. Ananke 16. Praxidike
  2. Iocaste 18. Harpalyke
  3. Thyone 20. Hermippe
  4. Aitne 22. Eurydome
  5. Euanthe 24. Euporie
  6. Orthosie 26. Sponde
  7. Kale 28. Pasithee
  8. Chaldene 30. Arche

Carme Group (Retrograde Irregular Moons) (19)

  1. Carme 32. Taygete
  2. Eukelade 34. Kalyke
  3. Erinome 36. Isonoe
  4. Aitna 38. Pasiphae
  5. Sinope 40. Autonoe
  6. Megaclite 42. Callirrhoe
  7. Eurydome 44. S/2003 J 10
  8. Hegemone 46. Euanthe
  9. Kore 48. S/2003 J 3
  10. Arche

Pasiphae Group (Retrograde Irregular Moons) (15)

  1. Pasiphae 51. Sinope
  2. Callirrhoe 53. Megaclite
  3. Autonoe 55. Eurydome
  4. Hegemone 57. Sponde
  5. Pasithee 59. Euporie
  6. Euanthe 61. Orthosie
  7. Hermippe 63. Thyone
  8. Praxidike

Other Prograde & Retrograde Irregular Moons (31+)

  1. Themisto 66. S/2003 J 2
  2. S/2003 J 4 68. S/2003 J 5
  3. S/2003 J 9 70. S/2003 J 12
  4. S/2003 J 15 72. S/2003 J 16
  5. S/2003 J 18 74. S/2010 J 1
  6. S/2011 J 1 76. S/2011 J 2
  7. Valetudo 78. S/2003 J 23
  8. S/2016 J 1 80. S/2017 J 1
  9. S/2017 J 2 82. S/2017 J 3
  10. S/2017 J 4 84. S/2017 J 5
  11. S/2017 J 6 86. S/2017 J 7
  12. S/2017 J 8 88. S/2017 J 9
  13. S/2017 J 10 90. S/2017 J 11
  14. S/2017 J 12 92. S/2017 J 13
  15. S/2017 J 14 94. S/2018 J 1
  16. S/2018 J 2

Many of these moons were discovered in the 21st century, and most of the smaller ones remain unnamed, particularly the ones discovered recently.

MOONS OF SATURN

Though Saturn is the second-largest planet in the solar system, it has the maximum collection of moons. Saturn has more than 140 natural satellites. Titan, which is the largest moon of Saturn and the second largest moon (after Ganymede) of our solar system, is bigger than planet Mercury. Here’s a complete list of Saturn’s 146 known moons, grouped by their characteristics:

Major Moons (Large, Inner Moons) (8):

  1. Mimas 2. Enceladus
  2. Tethys 4. Dione
  3. Rhea 6. Titan
  4. Hyperion 8. Iapetus

Irregular Moon (Outer Moons):

  1. Phoebe

Ring Shepherd Moons (within Saturn’s Rings) (4):

  1. Pan 11. Daphnis
  2. Atlas 13. Prometheus

Co-orbital Moons (2):

  1. Epimetheus 15. Janus

Inner Shepherd Moons (F Ring shepherds) (2):

  1. Pandora 17. Aegaeon

Trojan Moons (Moons sharing orbits with larger moons) (4):

  1. Telesto (Tethys Trojan) 19. Calypso (Tethys Trojan)
  2. Helene (Dione Trojan) 21. Polydeuces (Dione Trojan)

Irregular Moons (Distant Outer Moons) – Grouped into families:

Inuit Group (5):

  1. Kiviuq 23. Ijiraq
  2. Siarnaq 25. Paaliaq
  3. Tarqeq

Gallic Group (4):

  1. Albiorix 28. Bebhionn
  2. Erriapus 30. Tarvos

Norse Group (43 Retrograde Irregular Moons):

  1. Ymir 32. Skathi
  2. Mundilfari 34. Phoebe
  3. Surtur 36. Thrymr
  4. Kari 38. S/2004 S 12
  5. Greip 40. Hati
  6. Loge 42. Fenrir
  7. Surtur 44. Jarnsaxa
  8. Aegir 46. Farbauti
  9. Bestla 48. S/2004 S 13
  10. Narvi 50. Bergelmir
  11. S/2004 S 7 52. S/2006 S 1
  12. S/2006 S 3 54. S/2007 S 1
  13. S/2007 S 2 56. S/2007 S 3
  14. S/2004 S 17 58. S/2004 S 6
  15. S/2004 S 9 60. S/2004 S 11
  16. S/2004 S 19 62. S/2004 S 21
  17. S/2004 S 22 64. S/2004 S 23
  18. S/2004 S 24 66. S/2004 S 25
  19. S/2004 S 26 68. S/2004 S 27
  20. S/2004 S 28 70. S/2006 S 2
  21. S/2006 S 4 72. S/2007 S 5

Unnamed Newly Discovered Moons (2020-2024) (65):

  1. S/2004 S 30 74. S/2004 S 31
  2. S/2004 S 32 76. S/2019 S 1
  3. S/2019 S 2 78. S/2019 S 3
  4. S/2019 S 4 80. S/2019 S 5
  5. S/2019 S 6 82. S/2019 S 7
  6. S/2019 S 8 84. S/2019 S 9
  7. S/2020 S 1 86. S/2020 S 2
  8. S/2020 S 3 88. S/2020 S 4
  9. S/2020 S 5 90. S/2020 S 6
  10. S/2020 S 7 92. S/2020 S 8
  11. S/2020 S 9 94. S/2020 S 10
  12. S/2020 S 11 96. S/2020 S 12
  13. S/2020 S 13 98. S/2020 S 14
  14. S/2020 S 15 100. S/2020 S 16
  15. S/2020 S 17 102. S/2020 S 18
  16. S/2020 S 19 104. S/2020 S 20
  17. S/2020 S 21 106. S/2020 S 22
  18. S/2020 S 23 108. S/2020 S 24
  19. S/2020 S 25 110. S/2020 S 26
  20. S/2020 S 27 112. S/2020 S 28
  21. S/2020 S 29 114. S/2020 S 30
  22. S/2020 S 31 116. S/2020 S 32
  23. S/2020 S 33 118. S/2020 S 34
  24. S/2020 S 35 120. S/2020 S 36
  25. S/2020 S 37 122. S/2020 S 38
  26. S/2020 S 39 124. S/2020 S 40
  27. S/2020 S 41 126. S/2020 S 42
  28. S/2020 S 43 128. S/2020 S 44
  29. S/2020 S 45 130. S/2020 S 46
  30. S/2020 S 47 132. S/2020 S 48
  31. S/2020 S 49 134. S/2020 S 50
  32. S/2020 S 51 136. S/2020 S 52
  33. S/2020 S 53 138. S/2020 S 54
  34. S/2020 S 55 140. S/2020 S 56
  35. S/2020 S 57 142. S/2020 S 58
  36. S/2020 S 59 144. S/2020 S 60
  37. S/2020 S 61 146. S/2020 S 62

Saturn has an extensive collection of moons, with the larger, more well-known moons like Titan and Enceladus being the most studied for their potential scientific interest. Many of the smaller moons are still awaiting further study and official names.

MOONS OF URANUS

Uranus is the seventh planet from the sun and the coldest planet in the solar system, with 28 confirmed moons. These bodies are unique in the solar system because they have the same 98-degree axial tilt as their parent planet.

Here is the complete list of Uranus‘s moons, ordered by their distance from the planet:

Major Moons (Large Moons of Uranus):

  1. Miranda 2. Ariel
  2. Titania (the largest moon of Uranus)
  3. Umbriel 5. Oberon

Inner Moons (Small Moons):

  1. Cordelia 7. Ophelia
  2. Bianca 9. Cressida
  3. Desdemona 11. Juliet
  4. Portia 13. Rosalind
  5. Cupid 15. Belinda
  6. Perdita 17. Mab
  7. Puck

Outer Moons (Irregular Moons):

  1. Caliban 20. Sycorax
  2. Prospero 22. Setebos
  3. Stephano 24. Trinculo
  4. Francisco 26. Margaret
  5. Ferdinand 28. S/2023 U 1

These moons vary in size and characteristics, with the five largest moons being the most studied due to their geological features and potential interest for further exploration.

MOONS OF NEPTUNE

Neptune has 16 moons, each named after a sea god or nymph from Greek mythology. All but two of Neptune‘s moons have been named. Triton, which is the largest and has a retrograde orbit (it orbits in the opposite direction to Neptune’s rotation). Here’s a list of all of Neptune’s moons:

Major Moon:

  1. Triton (the largest moon of Neptune)

Inner Regular Moons (closest to Neptune):

  1. Naiad 3. Thalassa
  2. Despina 5. Galatea
  3. Larissa
  4. Hippocamp (discovered in 2013)
  5. Proteus (second-largest moon of Neptune)

Outer Irregular Moons:

  1. Halimede 10. Psamathe
  2. Sao 12. Laomedeia
  3. Neso 14. S/2002 N 5
  4. S/2021 N 1

Retrograde Moon:

  1. Nereid (orbits Neptune in a highly eccentric orbit)

These moons range from the large, icy Triton to small irregular moons, and many have been discovered only in the past few decades. Triton is especially significant because of its unique retrograde orbit and active geology.

MOONS OF PLUTO

Pluto has five recognised moons. Charon, by far the largest, is half the size of Pluto. Here’s a list of all of Pluto’s moons:

  1. Charon (the largest moon, about half the size of Pluto)
  2. Styx 3. Nix
  3. Kerberos 5. Hydra

Charon is the most significant of Pluto‘s moons due to its size, and Pluto-Charon is sometimes considered a double dwarf planet system because of their close size and mutual orbit. The other four moons are much smaller and irregular in shape.

CONCLUSION

The moons of our solar system are a varied and changing group of celestial objects. From small, rocky moons to large, icy worlds, they provide a window into the early history of our solar system. Some moons might even have environments suitable for life, which makes them a key area of ongoing investigation. Tidal forces have a major impact on shaping these moons, affecting their geological processes and potential for supporting life. As we continuously explore and research these intriguing bodies, we acquire valuable knowledge about the creation and development of our cosmic surroundings.

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