Natural Satellites In The Solar System

Planets asteroids and comets orbit around stars such as our sun and so can also be thought of as natural satellites.

Natural satellites in the solar system.

There are more than 200 moons in our solar system. There are 179 known natural satellites in the solar system each grouped unevenly throughout the eight planets. Technically the term natural satellite could refer to a planet orbiting a star or a dwarf galaxy orbiting a major galaxy but it is normally synonymous with moon and used to identify non artificial satellites of planets dwarf planets and minor planets. The largest of these moons is ganymede which is one of the galilean moons.

Moons also known as natural satellites orbit planets and asteroids. It is the only moon known to have a dense atmosphere and the only known body in space other than earth where clear evidence of stable bodies of surface liquid has been found. Most orbit the giant planets with saturn and jupiter leading moon counts but even smaller worlds like pluto can have five moons in orbit. 19 of them are large enough to be gravitationally rounded.

Moons come in many shapes sizes and types. Our solar system has eight official planets as well as millions of minor planets asteroids comets and other objects orbiting around the sun. All of these can be thought of as. A majority of those moons belong to the planet of saturn the second most belonging to jupiter.

Other natural satellites in our solar system. Titan is the largest moon of saturn and the second largest natural satellite in the solar system. Natural satellites can come from a stray celestial body that gets pulled into a planet s gravitational pull or is formed from the debris of the primary shot into space by an external celestial object. A natural satellite or moon is a celestial body that orbits a planet or smaller body which is called the primary.

The solar system s planets and its most likely dwarf planets are known to be orbited by at least 219 natural satellites or moons. The earth has 1 satellite mars has 2 jupiter has 63 saturn has 62 uranus has 27 and neptune has 13 natural satellites. Of these all are covered by a crust of ice except for earth s moon and io. Planets and asteroids in our solar system orbit the sun.

As of july 2009 336 bodies have been formally classified as moons. See more information on moons here.