Natural satellite

A natural satellite is, in the most common usage, an astronomical body that orbits a planet, dwarf planet, or
small Solar System body (or sometimes another natural satellite). Natural satellites are colloquially referred
to as moons, a derivation from the Moon of Earth.

In the Solar System, there are six planetary satellite systems containing 288 known natural satellites
altogether. Seven objects commonly considered dwarf planets by astronomers are also known to have
natural satellites: Orcus, Pluto, Haumea, Quaoar, Makemake, Gonggong, and Eris.[1] As of January 2022,
there are 447 other minor planets known to have natural satellites.[2]

A planet usually has at least around 10,000 times the mass of any natural satellites that orbit it, with a
correspondingly much larger diameter.[3] The Earth–Moon system is a unique exception in the Solar System;
at 3,474 kilometres (2,158 miles) across, the Moon is 0.273 times the diameter of Earth and about 1⁄80 of its
mass.[4] The next largest ratios are the Neptune–Triton system at 0.055 (with a mass ratio of about 1 to
4790), the Saturn–Titan system at 0.044 (with the second mass ratio next to the Earth–Moon system, 1 to
4220), the Jupiter–Ganymede system at 0.038, and the Uranus–Titania system at 0.031. For the category of
dwarf planets, Charon has the largest ratio, being 0.52 the diameter and 12.2% the mass of Pluto. The Moon orbiting around Earth (observed by the
Deep Space Climate Observatory)

Terminology
The first known natural satellite was the Moon, but it was considered a "planet" until Copernicus' introduction of De revolutionibus orbium coelestium in 1543.
Until the discovery of the Galilean satellites in 1610 there was no opportunity for referring to such objects as a class. Galileo chose to refer to his discoveries as
Planetæ ("planets"), but later discoverers chose other terms to distinguish them from the objects they orbited.

The first to use the term satellite to describe orbiting bodies was the German astronomer Johannes Kepler in his pamphlet Narratio de Observatis a se quatuor
Iouis satellitibus erronibus ("Narration About Four Satellites of Jupiter Observed") in 1610. He derived the term from the Latin word satelles, meaning "guard",
"attendant", or "companion", because the satellites accompanied their primary planet in their journey through the heavens.[5]

The term satellite thus became the normal one for referring to an object orbiting a planet, as it avoided the ambiguity of "moon". In 1957, however, the
launching of the artificial object Sputnik created a need for new terminology.[5] The terms man-made satellite and artificial moon were very quickly abandoned
in favor of the simpler satellite. As a consequence, the term has become linked with artificial objects flown in space.

Because of this shift in meaning, the term moon, which had continued to be used in a generic sense in works of popular science and fiction, has regained
respectability and is now used interchangeably with natural satellite, even in scientific articles. When it is necessary to avoid both the ambiguity of confusion
with Earth's natural satellite the Moon and the natural satellites of the other planets on the one hand, and artificial satellites on the other, the term natural
satellite (using "natural" in a sense opposed to "artificial") is used. To further avoid ambiguity, the convention is to capitalize the word Moon when referring to
Earth's natural satellite (a proper noun), but not when referring to other natural satellites (common nouns).

Many authors define "satellite" or "natural satellite" as orbiting some planet or minor planet, synonymous with "moon" – by such a definition all natural
satellites are moons, but Earth and other planets are not satellites.[6][7][8] A few recent authors define "moon" as "a satellite of a planet or minor planet", and
"planet" as "a satellite of a star" – such authors consider Earth as a "natural satellite of the Sun".[9][10][11]

Definition of a moon
There is no established lower limit on what is considered a "moon". Every natural celestial body with an identified orbit
around a planet of the Solar System, some as small as a kilometer across, has been considered a moon, though objects a
tenth that size within Saturn's rings, which have not been directly observed, have been called moonlets. Small asteroid
moons (natural satellites of asteroids), such as Dactyl, have also been called moonlets.[12]

The upper limit is also vague. Two orbiting bodies are sometimes described as a double planet rather than a primary and
satellite. Asteroids such as 90 Antiope are considered double asteroids, but they have not forced a clear definition of what
constitutes a moon. Some authors consider the Pluto–Charon system to be a double (dwarf) planet. The most common
dividing line on what is considered a moon rests upon whether the barycentre is below the surface of the larger body,
though this is somewhat arbitrary because it depends on distance as well as relative mass. Size comparison of Earth and the
Moon

Origin and orbital characteristics

The natural satellites orbiting relatively close to the planet on prograde, uninclined circular orbits (regular satellites) are generally thought to have been formed
out of the same collapsing region of the protoplanetary disk that created its primary.[13][14] In contrast, irregular satellites (generally orbiting on distant,
inclined, eccentric and/or retrograde orbits) are thought to be captured asteroids possibly further fragmented by collisions. Most of the major natural satellites of
the Solar System have regular orbits, while most of the small natural satellites have irregular orbits.[15] The Moon and the Moons of Pluto are exceptions among
large bodies in that they are thought to have originated from the collision of two large protoplanetary objects early in the Solar System's history (see the giant
impact hypothesis).[16][17] The material that would have been placed in orbit around the central body is predicted to have reaccreted to form one or more
orbiting natural satellites. As opposed to planetary-sized bodies, asteroid moons are thought to commonly form by this process. Triton is another exception;
although large and in a close, circular orbit, its motion is retrograde and it is thought to be a captured dwarf planet.
Temporary satellites
The capture of an asteroid from a heliocentric orbit is not always permanent. According to simulations, temporary satellites should be a common
phenomenon.[18][19] The only observed examples are 1991 VG, 2006 RH120, 2020 CD3.

2006 RH120 was a temporary satellite of Earth for nine months in 2006 and 2007.[20][21]

Tidal locking
Most regular moons (natural satellites following relatively close and prograde orbits with small orbital inclination and eccentricity) in the Solar System are
tidally locked to their respective primaries, meaning that the same side of the natural satellite always faces its planet. This phenomenon comes about through a
loss of energy due to tidal forces raised by the planet, slowing the rotation of the satellite until it is negligible.[22] Exceptions are known; one such exception is
Saturn's natural satellite Hyperion, which rotates chaotically because of the gravitational influence of Titan. Pluto's four, circumbinary small moons also rotate
chaotically due to Charon's influence.[23]

In contrast, the outer natural satellites of the giant planets (irregular satellites) are too far away to have become locked. For example, Jupiter's Himalia, Saturn's
Phoebe, and Neptune's Nereid have rotation periods in the range of ten hours, whereas their orbital periods are hundreds of days.

Satellites of satellites
No "moons of moons" or subsatellites (natural satellites that orbit a natural satellite of a planet) are currently known. In
most cases, the tidal effects of the planet would make such a system unstable.

However, calculations performed after the 2008 detection[24] of a possible ring system around Saturn's moon Rhea
indicate that satellites orbiting Rhea could have stable orbits. Furthermore, the suspected rings are thought to be
narrow,[25] a phenomenon normally associated with shepherd moons. However, targeted images taken by the Cassini
spacecraft failed to detect rings around Rhea.[26] Artist impression of Rhea's
proposed rings
It has also been proposed that Saturn's moon Iapetus had a satellite in the past; this is one of several hypotheses that have
been put forward to account for its equatorial ridge.[27]

Light-curve analysis suggests that Saturn's irregular satellite Kiviuq is extremely prolate, and is likely a contact binary or even a binary moon.[28]

Trojan satellites
Two natural satellites are known to have small companions at both their L4 and L5 Lagrangian points, sixty degrees ahead and behind the body in its orbit.
These companions are called trojan moons, as their orbits are analogous to the trojan asteroids of Jupiter. The trojan moons are Telesto and Calypso, which are
the leading and following companions, respectively, of the Saturnian moon Tethys; and Helene and Polydeuces, the leading and following companions of the
Saturnian moon Dione.

Asteroid satellites
The discovery of 243 Ida's natural satellite Dactyl in the early 1990s confirmed that some asteroids have natural satellites; indeed, 87 Sylvia has two. Some,
such as 90 Antiope, are double asteroids with two comparably sized components.

Shape
Neptune's moon Proteus is the largest irregularly shaped natural satellite; the shapes of Eris' moon Dysnomia
and Orcus' moon Vanth are unknown. All other known natural satellites that are at least the size of Uranus's
Miranda have lapsed into rounded ellipsoids under hydrostatic equilibrium, i.e. are "round/rounded
satellites" and are sometimes categorized as planetary-mass moons. (Dysnomia's density is known to be high
enough that it is probably a solid ellipsoid as well.) The larger natural satellites, being tidally locked, tend
toward ovoid (egg-like) shapes: squat at their poles and with longer equatorial axes in the direction of their
primaries (their planets) than in the direction of their motion. Saturn's moon Mimas, for example, has a
major axis 9% greater than its polar axis and 5% greater than its other equatorial axis. Methone, another of
Saturn's moons, is only around 3 km in diameter and visibly egg-shaped. The effect is smaller on the largest
natural satellites, where their gravity is greater relative to the effects of tidal distortion, especially those that
orbit less massive planets or, as in the case of the Moon, at greater distances.

The relative masses of the natural satellites of the

Solar System. Mimas, Enceladus, and Miranda
are too small to be visible at this scale. All the
irregularly shaped natural satellites, even added
together, would also be too small to be visible.
 Difference in axes
Name Satellite of
km % of mean diameter

Mimas Saturn 33.4 (20.4 / 13.0) 8.4 (5.1 / 3.3)

Enceladus Saturn 16.6 3.3

Miranda Uranus 14.2 3.0

Tethys Saturn 25.8 2.4

Io Jupiter 29.4 0.8

Luna Earth 4.3 0.1

Geological activity
Of the nineteen known natural satellites in the Solar System that are large enough to be gravitationally rounded, several remain geologically active today. Io is
the most volcanically active body in the Solar System, while Europa, Enceladus, Titan and Triton display evidence of ongoing tectonic activity and
cryovolcanism. In the first three cases, the geological activity is powered by the tidal heating resulting from having eccentric orbits close to their giant-planet
primaries. (This mechanism would have also operated on Triton in the past before its orbit was circularized.) Many other natural satellites, such as Earth's
Moon, Ganymede, Tethys, and Miranda, show evidence of past geological activity, resulting from energy sources such as the decay of their primordial
radioisotopes, greater past orbital eccentricities (due in some cases to past orbital resonances), or the differentiation or freezing of their interiors. Enceladus and
Triton both have active features resembling geysers, although in the case of Triton solar heating appears to provide the energy. Titan and Triton have significant
atmospheres; Titan also has hydrocarbon lakes. All four of the Galilean moons have atmospheres, though they are extremely thin.[29][30][31] Four of the largest
natural satellites, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto, and Titan, are thought to have subsurface oceans of liquid water, while smaller Enceladus also supports a global
subsurface ocean of liquid water.

Occurrence in the Solar System

Besides planets and dwarf planets objects within our Solar System known to have natural satellites are
76 in the asteroid belt (five with two each), four Jupiter trojans, 39 near-Earth objects (two with two
satellites each), and 14 Mars-crossers.[2] There are also 84 known natural satellites of trans-Neptunian
objects.[2] Some 150 additional small bodies have been observed within the rings of Saturn, but only a
few were tracked long enough to establish orbits. Planets around other stars are likely to have satellites
as well, and although numerous candidates have been detected to date, none have yet been confirmed.

Of the inner planets, Mercury and Venus have no natural satellites; Earth has one large natural satellite,
known as the Moon; and Mars has two tiny natural satellites, Phobos and Deimos. The giant planets
have extensive systems of natural satellites, including half a dozen comparable in size to Earth's Moon:
Largest moons to scale with their parent planets and
the four Galilean moons, Saturn's Titan, and Neptune's Triton. Saturn has an additional six mid-sized
dwarf planet
natural satellites massive enough to have achieved hydrostatic equilibrium, and Uranus has five. It has
been suggested that some satellites may potentially harbour life.[32]

Among the objects generally agreed by astronomers to be dwarf planets, Ceres and Sedna have no known natural satellites. Pluto has the relatively large natural
satellite Charon and four smaller natural satellites; Styx, Nix, Kerberos, and Hydra.[33] Haumea has two natural satellites; Orcus, Quaoar, Makemake,
Gonggong, and Eris have one each. The Pluto–Charon system is unusual in that the center of mass lies in open space between the two, a characteristic
sometimes associated with a double-planet system.

The seven largest natural satellites in the Solar System (those bigger than 2,500 km across) are Jupiter's Galilean moons (Ganymede, Callisto, Io, and Europa),
Saturn's moon Titan, Earth's moon, and Neptune's captured natural satellite Triton. Triton, the smallest of these, has more mass than all smaller natural satellites
together. Similarly in the next size group of nine mid-sized natural satellites, between 1,000 km and 1,600 km across, Titania, Oberon, Rhea, Iapetus, Charon,
Ariel, Umbriel, Dione, and Tethys, the smallest, Tethys, has more mass than all smaller natural satellites together. As well as the natural satellites of the various
planets, there are also over 80 known natural satellites of the dwarf planets, minor planets and other small Solar System bodies. Some studies estimate that up to
15% of all trans-Neptunian objects could have satellites.

The following is a comparative table classifying the natural satellites in the Solar System by diameter. The column on the right includes some notable planets,
dwarf planets, asteroids, and trans-Neptunian objects for comparison. The natural satellites of the planets are named after mythological figures. These are
predominantly Greek, except for the Uranian natural satellites, which are named after Shakespearean characters. The twenty satellites massive enough to be
round are in bold in the table below. Minor planets and satellites where there is disagreement in the literature on roundness are italicized in the table below.
 Mean Satellites of planets Satellites of dwarf planets
diameter
(km) Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Orcus Pluto Haumea Quaoar Makemake Gonggong

4,000– Ganymede
Titan
6,000 Callisto

3,000– Io
Moon
4,000 Europa
2,000–
Triton
3,000

Rhea Titania
1,000– Iapetus Oberon
Charon
2,000 Dione Umbriel
Tethys Ariel

500–
Enceladus
1,000

Mimas Proteus
250–500 Miranda Vanth Hiʻiaka
Hyperion Nereid

Amalthea Phoebe Sycorax Larissa

S/2015
100–250 Himalia Janus Puck Galatea Namaka
(136472) 1
Thebe Epimetheus Portia Despina

Caliban
Juliet
Thalassa
Belinda
Elara Prometheus Halimede Xiangliu
50–100 Cressida Weywot
Pasiphae Pandora Neso (probably)
Rosalind
Naiad
Desdemona
Bianca

Ophelia
Carme Siarnaq Sao
Cordelia
Metis Helene S/2002 N 5 Hydra
Setebos
25–50 Sinope Albiorix Laomedeia
Lysithea Atlas
Prospero
Psamathe Nix[34]
Perdita
Ananke Pan Hippocamp
Stephano

Telesto
Mab
Paaliaq
Cupid
Calypso
Francisco
Phobos Leda Ymir S/2021 N 1 Kerberos
10–25 Ferdinand
Deimos Adrastea Kiviuq (?) Styx
Margaret
Tarvos
Trinculo
Ijiraq
S/2023 U 1
Erriapus

< 10 79 moons 120 moons

See also
Circumplanetary disk – Accumulation of matter around a planet Naming of moons
Co-orbital moon – Configuration of two or more astronomical Quasi-satellite – Type of satellite in sync with another orbit
objects Subsatellite – A satellite that orbits a natural satellite (aka
Exomoon – Moon beyond the Solar System Submoon)
Inner moon – Natural satellite orbiting inside the orbit of a larger Timeline of discovery of Solar System planets and their moons
moon Trojan moon – Configuration of two or more astronomical objects
Irregular moon – Captured satellite following an irregular orbit Tug of war (astronomy) – Ratio of gravitational forces on a satellite
Regular moon – Satellites that formed around their parent planet from the Sun and host planet
List of natural satellites

Moons of planets
The Moon, Earth's natural satellite Moons of Saturn
Moons of Mars Moons of Uranus
Moons of Jupiter Moons of Neptune
Moons of dwarf planets and small Solar System bodies
Minor-planet moon S/2015 (136472) 1, Makemake's natural satellite
Moons of Pluto Xiangliu, Gonggong's natural satellite
Dysnomia, Eris's natural satellite Weywot, Quaoar's natural satellite
Moons of Haumea Vanth, Orcus' binary natural satellite

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s://doi.org/10.1029%2F2010GL043663). S2CID 133143673 (https://
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External links

All moons
Natural Satellite Physical Parameters (https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/?sat_phys_par) (JPL-NASA, with refs – last updated July 2006)
Moons of the Solar System (https://web.archive.org/web/20070227165513/http://www.planetary.org/explore/topics/compare_the_planets/moo
n_numbers.html) (The Planetary Society, as of March 2009)
The JPL's Solar System Dynamics page (https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/)
"How Many Solar System Bodies" (https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/?body_count). NASA/JPL Solar System Dynamics. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
Planetary Names: Planet and Satellite Names and Discoverers (https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Page/Planets)
"Upper size limit for moons explained" (https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn9336-upper-size-limit-for-moons-explained/) Kelly Young.
Nature (vol 441, p. 834) 14 June 2006
Images of planets and major moons (not to scale) (http://www.hudsonfla.com/spaceplanets.htm)
The Planetary Society – Moon Montage(s) (http://www.planetary.org/blogs/emily-lakdawalla/2013/scale-comparisons-solar-system-moons.ht
ml)
Album (https://www.flickr.com/photos/kevinmgill/albums/72157664303348108) of moon images by Kevin M. Gill
The Atlas of Moons (https://web.archive.org/web/20190709182950/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2019/07/the-atlas-of-moons/)
by the National Geographic Society

Jupiter's moons
Sheppard, Scott S. "The Jupiter Satellite and Moon Page" (https://web.archive.org/web/20180531184410/http://home.dtm.ciw.edu/users/shep
pard/satellites/jup2003.html). Department of Terrestrial Magnetism at Carnegie Institution for Science. Archived from the original (http://home.
dtm.ciw.edu/users/sheppard/satellites/) on 31 May 2018. Retrieved 8 March 2018.* Scott S. Sheppard
Scott S. Sheppard

Saturn's moons
Satellite-hunters find four new moons of the planet Saturn (http://news.cornell.edu/stories/2000/10/satellite-hunting-team-finds-four-new-moon
s-saturn) David Brand | 26 October 2000
Saturn's New Satellite S/2003 S1 (https://web.archive.org/web/20180531022057/http://home.dtm.ciw.edu/users/sheppard/satellites/sat2003.h
tml) Scott S. Sheppard

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