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natural satellite |
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Kinds of natural satellite :
- Amalthea (11 facts) (Jupiter V, Barnard's satellite) - The innermost satellite of Jupiter.
- Ariel (7 facts) - Second satellite of Uranus.
- Deimos (10 facts) - The outer satellite of Mars. Mariner 9 has shown that both Phobos and Deimos are locked in synchronous rotation with Mars.
- Demeter (8 facts) - Unofficial name for Jupiter X.
- Dione (7 facts) - Fifth satellite of Saturn
- Enceladus (7 facts) - Third satellite of Saturn
- Galilean satellite (4 kinds, 45 facts) - The largest satellites of Jupiter - Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. All are locked in synchronous rotation with Jupiter.
- Hades (9 facts) (Jupiter IX) - An unofficial name for Jupiter IX, the outermost satellite of Jupiter.
- Hera (9 facts) (Jupiter VII) - Unofficial name for Jupiter VII.
- Hestia (9 facts) (Jupiter VI) - Unofficial name for Jupiter VI.
- Hyperion (7 facts) - Eighth satellite of Saturn
- Iapetus (7 facts) - The ninth satellite of Saturn. It has the most extreme variation in albedo of any satellite in the solar system (0.04 for the leading side, 0.28 for the trailing side). Discovered by Cassini in 1671.
- Janus (9 facts) - The innermost satellite of Saturn, just outside Saturn's rings. Named Janus for the first and the last.
- Mimas (8 facts) - The second innermost satellite of Saturn. The perturbations of Mimas and Janus produce the divisions in Saturn's rings.
- Miranda (7 facts) - The innermost satellite of Uranus.
- Moon (20 facts) - Natural satellite of Earth. Studies of lunar rocks have shown that melting and separation must have begun at least 4.5 × 109 years ago,so the crust of the Moon was beginning to form a very short time after the solar system itself. It would have taken only 107 years to slow the Moon's rotation into its present lock with its orbital period. The Moon's orbit is always concave toward the Sun.
- Nereid (8 facts) - The outer satellite of Neptune. It has the most eccentric orbit of any natural satellite.
- Oberon (8 facts) - Outermost satellite of Uranus.
- Pan (9 facts) (Jupiter XI) - Unofficial name for Jupiter XI.
- Phobos (12 facts) - The potato-shaped inner satellite of Mars. Phobos lies just outside the Martian Roche limit.
- Phoebe (7 facts) - The outermost satellite of Saturn. Has retrograde orbit.
- Poseidon (9 facts) (Jupiter VIII) - Unofficial name for J VIII, the next outermost satellite of Jupiter.
- Rhea (8 facts) - Sixth satellite of Saturn
- Tethys (7 facts) - Fourth satellite of Saturn
- Themis (3 facts) - A satellite of Saturn discovered by Pickering in 1900, but since lost.
- Titan (11 facts) (S VI) - Seventh (known) moon out from Saturn, its largest and brightest. It is possibly also the largest satellite in the Solar System.
- Titania (7 facts) - Fourth satellite of Uranus.
- Triton (3 facts) - The inner satellite of Neptune, discovered by Lassell in 1846. It is larger than the Moon (R ≈ 2900 km), with an almost circular retrograde orbit of 5 days 21 hours.
- Umbriel (7 facts) - A satellite of Uranus.
Next celestial body: nebula Up: celestial body, satellite Previous celestial body: Messier object