KOMPAS.com – Satellites are generally known as man-made machines that orbit the Earth. For example, Indonesia’s satellites are Palapa, Lapan, or Satria.
But before that, it turned out that there were already natural satellites orbiting around planets, including Earth.
These satellites come in various shapes, sizes, and types. Generally they are solid objects, and few have atmospheres.
So, what is meant by a planet’s natural satellite?
Definition of natural satellites of planets
A satellite is an object in space that orbits or surrounds a larger object.
Reporting from the Space.com page, a satellite is an object in outer space that moves around a larger object.
The Earth can be called a satellite because it moves around the sun, then the moon is also a satellite because it moves around the Earth.
There are two types of satellites, namely natural satellites (such as the moon orbiting the Earth) or artificial (such as the International Space Station orbiting the Earth).
Also read: Get to know the phenomenon of diamond rain on the planets Uranus and Neptune, what causes it?
In the context of planetary natural satellites, they are celestial bodies that move around or orbit a planet.
There are many natural satellites in the solar system, and almost every planet (except Mercury and Venus) has at least one natural satellite, known as a moon.
Not only planets in the solar system, objects smaller than planets also have their own natural satellites or moons.
Moons can orbit dwarf planets, large asteroids and other objects. Pluto is technically not a planet, but rather a dwarf planet, but it is known to have five natural satellites.
Many asteroids also have moons, for example 4 Vesta, 243 Ida, 433 Eros, and 951 Gaspra.
Also read: Having 146 Moons, Here are 7 Interesting Facts about the Planet Saturn
How are natural satellites formed?
iStockphoto/dottedhippo
Illustration of the moons of the planet Jupiter.
Many natural satellites formed at the same time as the main planet. Gravity pulls bits of dust and gas into ever-larger clumps of material, according to National Geographic.
Smaller blobs of material (natural satellites) begin to orbit larger blobs (planets).
Some moons form in other ways. For example, Earth’s moon was formed when an object the size of Mars hit the planet.
The impact threw a huge amount of material into orbit around Earth. This material slowly accumulated into one large object, namely the moon.
Also read: 8 Unique Facts about the Planet Uranus, It Has Rings and Has the Coldest Temperature
List of planetary satellites in the solar system
Quoted from the NASA page, of the eight planets in the solar system, only Mercury and Venus have no natural satellites or moons at all.
While the rest have at least one moon or natural satellite, some even have dozens. Here are the details:
- Earth has one moon or natural satellite, namely the Moon.
- Mars has two moons, namely Phobos and Deimos.
- Jupiter has about 95 moons, the most popular of which are Amalthea, Callisto, Europa, Ganymede, and Io.
- Saturn has 146 moons, including Titan, Dione, Mimas, Rhea and Tethys.
- Uranus has 27 moons, including Ariel, Miranda, Oberon, Titania, and Umbriel.
- Neptune has 14 moons, including Nereid, Triton, and Naiad.
For a complete list of moons or satellites of the planets in the solar system, please visit the following link LIST OF SOLAR SYSTEM PLANET SATELLITES.
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2024-04-06 12:00:00
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