There are 145 known natural satellites of the solar system, to of the Moon, according to the International Astronomical Union (IAU). This number does not include the moons still waiting for official recognition, or the moons of the dwarf planets.
A dwarf planet is one that by its size can not clear most of the small objects that orbit it.
The Moon is a natural satellite of Earth.
Also left out are the tiny natural satellites orbiting asteroids or celestial bodies.
On the other hand, a satellite is anything that orbits around a larger object. Natural satellites are those that orbit around the planets. they are also known as moons.
Natural Satellites of the Solar System
The natural satellites of the solar system vary in size and type. Some are large enough to be spherical due to gravity.
Others appear to be asteroids trapped in the orbit of some celestial body. Some have atmosphere.
As for its distribution, some planets lack moons, as is the case of Mercury and Venus.
The Earth has only one natural satellite, Moon , while Mars has two very small ones. The giant planets have a significant number of moons. Some of these are even larger than Mercury and Pluto.
Mars Satellites
Mars has two satellites: Deimos and Phobos. Their names were inspired by a passage of the book XV of the Iliad of Homer.
In this the God Ares invokes Phobos (Greek name for panic) and Deimos (terror). Phobos is the largest and closest, and its shape is similar to an asteroid.
Deimos also has an irregular appearance and, unlike Phobos, goes out in the east and hides in the west.
Satellites of Jupiter
Jupiter is the planet with the largest number of natural satellites in the solar system, with a total of 67. Galileo discovered the first four in 1610: Callisto, Europa, Ganymede and Io.
Other satellites: Adrastea, Aedea, Aitné, Amaltea, Ananqué, Arce, Autonomous, Calé, Caldona, Calírroe, Carmé, Carpo, Cilene, Elara, Erínome, Euantee, Eukélade, Euporia, Eurydome, Harpálice, Hegémone, Heliké, Hermipé, Himalia , Isonoe, Kallichore, Kore, Leda, Lisitea, Tebe, Megaclite, Metis, Orthosia, Pasiphae, Pasitea, Praxidice, Sinope, Spondé, Tavenige, Telxino, Temisto, Tione and Yocasta.
Saturn Satellites
The ice and rock particles from Saturn's planetary rings are not considered moons. Its Titan satellite is the second largest in the solar system, and is the only one with a dense atmosphere.
The other satellites are Aegir, Albiorix, Antea, Atlas, Bebhionn, Bergelmir, Bestla, Calipso, Daphne, Dione, Aegean, Enceladus, Epimetheus, Erriap, Farbauti, Fenrir, Fornjot, Greip, Hati, Helen, Hyperion, Hyrrokkin, Iapetus , Ijiraq, Jano, Jarnsaxa, Kari, Kiviuq, Loge, Metone, Mimas, Mundilfari, Narvi, Paaliaq, Palene, Pan, Pandora, Phoebe, Polux, Prometeo, Rea, Siarnaq, Skadi, Skoll, Surtur, Suttung, Tarqeq, Tarvos , Telesto, Tethys, Thrym, Titan and Ymir.
Satellites of Uranus
Uranus has 27 Moons. These have names of personages of the classic literature, unlike the other natural satellites of the solar system that take the name of mythological Greek and Roman figures.
They are: Ariel, Belinda, Bianca, Caliban, Cordelia, Cressida, Desdemona, Ferdinando, Francisco, Julieta, Mab, Margarita, Miranda, Oberon, Ofelia, Perdita, Porcia, Prospero, Puck, Rosalinda, Setebos, Sicorax, Stefano, Titania, Trínculo and Umbrie
Neptune satellites
The satellites of Neptune are: Despina, Galatea, Halimede, Laomedeia, Larisa, Náyade, Nereida, Neso, Proteo, Psámate, S / 2004 N 1, Sao, Talasa and Triton.
References
- Our Solar System (2013). In National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Retrieved on September 13, 2017, from solarsystem.nasa.gov.
- Seeds, M.A. and Backman, D. (2015). Foundations of Astronomy . Massachusetts: Cengage Learning.
- Natural satellites. (2015, May 20). In Science Learning Hub. Retrieved on September 13, 2017, from sciencelearn.org.nz.
- Russell, R. (2008, October 09). Moons in our Solar System. In Windows to the Universe. Retrieved on September 13, 2017, from windows2universe.org.
- Capderou, M. (2005). Satellites. Orbits and Missions. Springer Science & Business Media.
- Rojas Peña, I. (2012). Astronomy Elemental: Volume II: Astrophysics and Astrobiology.
Valparaíso: USM Editions.