Natural Satellites Of The Solar System

Other natural satellites in our 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 of the solar system.

The most well known natural satellite is the earth s moon. Generally speaking all masses that are part of the solar system including the earth are satellites either of the sun or satellites of those objects such as the moon. A natural satellite or moon is an astronomical body that orbits a planet or minor planet or sometimes another small solar system body. The moon s distance from earth is about 240 000 miles 385 000km.

19 of them are large enough to be gravitationally rounded. A natural satellite or moon is in the most common usage an astronomical body that orbits a planet or minor planet or sometimes another small solar system body. The moon s presence helps stabilize our planet s wobble which helps stabilize our climate. In the solar system there are six planetary satellite systems containing 205 known natural satellites.

The largest of these moons is ganymede which is one of the galilean moons. Of these all are covered by a crust of ice except for earth s moon and io. In the solar system there are 219 satellites. Four iau listed dwarf planets are also known to have natural satellites.

The solar system s planets and its most likely dwarf planets are known to be orbited by at least 219 natural satellites or moons. See more information on moons here. Planets and asteroids in our solar system orbit the sun. 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.

Our solar system has eight official planets as well as millions of minor planets asteroids comets and other objects orbiting around the sun. Pluto haumea makemake and eris. The moon has a very thin atmosphere called an exosphere. The moon is earth s only natural satellite and the fifth largest moon in the solar system.

Moons come in many shapes sizes and types. Most orbit the giant planets with saturn and jupiter leading moon counts but even smaller worlds like pluto can have five moons in orbit. There are 185 known natural satellites in our solar system. A majority of those moons belong to the planet of saturn the second most belonging to jupiter.

Several of the largest ones are in hydrostatic equilibrium and would therefore be considered dwarf planets or planets if they. The term moon is often synonymous to natural satellites as they are generally orbiting a planet.