Mysterious moons of our solar system

[jw5]

Mysterious moons of our solar system​

Our solar system contains a menagerie of moons. But how many are actually out there? While Earth has its own familiar natural satellite, our nearest neighbor, Mars, has two. Pluto, a dwarf planet, has five confirmed moons. Neptune has 14 moons, while Uranus has 27. Jupiter has an impressive 53 confirmed moons orbiting its colossal body, the same number as Saturn. Venus and Mercury, meanwhile, are devoid of any such natural satellites. But in fact, there are hundreds of moons in our solar system, in many shapes, sizes, and types. And some truly stand out for their amazing landscapes, orbits, and environments.

 

[jw5]

The Moon​

The familiar near side of Earth's moon. Orbiting Earth at an average distance of 384,400 km (238,900 mi), our moon is the largest natural satellite in the solar system relative to the size of its planet. Based on its mineral composition, scientists believe that the moon is around 4.43 billion years old. That's around the time Earth's core settled.

 

[jw5]

Titan​

Titan is the largest moon of Saturn and the second-largest natural satellite in the solar system. Titan is the only moon wrapped in a thick atmosphere and has a surface of rock-hard water ice. Intriguingly, it also likely has a liquid water ocean beneath its surface. Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute image.

 

[jw5]

Ganymede​

Jupiter's moon Ganymede is the largest satellite in the solar system (our own moon is only larger when set against the size of Earth). Otherwise, Ganymede is colossal, being larger than Mercury and Pluto, and only slightly smaller than Mars. Ganymede also likely has a salty ocean underneath its icy surface, making it a potential location for life.

 

[jw5]

Pan​

Pan, the innermost named moon of Saturn, appears like a lone envelope of ravioli. Named after the half-man, half-goat satyr from Greek mythology, this small moon was only discovered in 1990. Image: NASA, Matúš Motlo.

 

[UltimaOnline]

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The Moon​

The familiar near side of Earth's moon. Orbiting Earth at an average distance of 384,400 km (238,900 mi), our moon is the largest natural satellite in the solar system relative to the size of its planet. Based on its mineral composition, scientists believe that the moon is around 4.43 billion years old. That's around the time Earth's core settled.

 

[blackmondy]

Why no mention of this moon ?

 

[jw5]

Europa​

According to NASA, the Hubble Space Telescope has spotted water vapor on Europa—the sixth-largest moon in the solar system and Jupiter's fourth-largest satellite. It's hypothesized that a water ocean exists under Europa's icy surface. Image: NASA/JPL/DLR.

 

[jw5]

Phobos​

Phobos, the inner and larger of Mars' two moons (the other being Deimos), is thought by scientists to be in a "death spiral" in that it's slowly orbiting toward the surface of Mars. The natural satellite is named after the Greek god Phobos, the personification of fear and panic, and the origin of the world phobia. Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona.

 

[jw5]

Enceladus​

Enceladus is an icy moon of Saturn, and the sixth-largest orbiting the ringed planet. It is an active moon that hides a global ocean of liquid salty water beneath its crust, which astrobiologists believe contains all the ingredients essential for life as we know it—water, organic compounds, and energy.

 

[eatshitndie]

what about mysterious moans cumming from across the street?

 

[saynotomsm]

Moon spotted in between clouds but science tells you that the moon is 384400km away from earth.

 

[jw5]

Io​

With over 400 active volcanoes, Io is the most geologically active object in the solar system. Plumes of sulfur spew upward as high as 300 km (190 mi) from the surface of Jupiter's fifth moon, which even has lakes of molten silicate lava.

 

[jw5]

Mimas​

Orbiting Saturn, Mimas is mostly made of ice water mixed with rock debris. The moon's enormous Herschel crater is named after the astronomer William Herschel (1738–1822), who discovered Mimas in 1789. After the release of the movie 'Star Wars' in 1977, Mimas was dubbed the "Death Star" for its eerie resemblance to the Empire's moon-sized space station.

 

[jw5]

Callisto​

Callisto wins the prize for possibly the most highly cratered body in the solar system. Callisto is the second-largest moon of Jupiter, after Ganymede, and thought to be a long dead world, with hardly any geologic activity on its surface. It's one of the oldest landscapes in the solar system, dated back to at least four billion years. Image: NASA.

 

[jw5]

Hyperion​

The largest known non-spherical moon in the solar system, Hyperion is probably a fragment of a much larger, ancient moon destroyed from an impact in the early solar system. It is a moon of Saturn and is distinguished by its porous, spongy appearance. Image: NASA/JPL/SSI/Gordan Ugarkovic.

 

[jw5]

Atlas​

Saturn's flying saucer moon, Atlas is another solar system oddball. An inner satellite discovered in 1980, Atlas appears like a deep space UFO. Image: NASA/Jet Propulsion Lab-Caltech/Space Science Institute.

 

[jw5]

Miranda​

The eleventh of Uranus' moons and the fifth largest, Miranda has a surface unlike anything in the solar system. Its broken, haphazard terrain features the Verona Rupes range—10,058 m (33,000 ft) tall and thought to be the highest cliffs in the solar system. They are visible at the bottom of the photograph. Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

 

[jw5]

Triton​

Neptune's satellites are dominated by one massive moon: Triton. One of the most intriguing bodies in the solar system, Triton features a south pole composed of frozen nitrogen and methane. NASA believes this weird and remote world to be among the most promising places in the entire solar system to look for signs of life. Image: NASA/Jet Propulsion Lab/US Geological Survey.

 

[jw5]

Lapetus​

One of the stranger moons of Saturn, Lapetus is distinguished by a half-light, half-dark surface. This two-toned anomaly has a bright hemisphere and a dark hemisphere. In fact, the bright hemisphere is 10-to-20 times more reflective than its counterpart.