Satellites are natural satellites of planets, and even dwarf planets can have satellites. In our solar system, our earth satellite is the least, only one, while Saturn has more than 82, making it the new king of satellites.
Satellites are fascinating because they may have life, but in addition, they also play a vital role in the habitat and even habitability of planets. Without our moon, there would be no tides on the earth, and there might even be no seasons. Let's see what the moon is, how they are formed, or whether the moon can have its own satellite!
Satellites are natural satellites orbiting planets, dwarf planets and asteroids in the solar system. They come in different types, shapes and sizes, and some of them even have atmospheres and hidden oceans.
The only difference between some satellites and planets is what they revolve around. For example, planets like the earth and Jupiter revolve around the sun, while the moon revolves around planets, dwarf planets or asteroids. In short, satellites revolve around celestial bodies orbiting the sun or other stars.
Most satellites are formed by disks of dust and gas circulating around planets in the early solar system billions of years ago. Other satellites are former asteroids, captured in orbit by the strong gravity of larger celestial bodies.
But two satellites in our solar system have a strange history. Earth's moon, moon and Pluto's satellite Ka Rong are formed by dust and debris rising from their own planets.
According to some theories, the earth was hit by a meteor the size of Mars 4.5 billion years ago, and the particles that rose to orbit after the collision combined to form the so-called moon today. It is believed that the same thing happened on the dwarf planet Pluto, so Ka Rong was born.
Although more than 600 satellites have been found in our solar system, their distribution is uneven. Some planets have dozens of satellites, and some have no satellites at all.
Mercury and Venus are the only two planets without satellites. Mercury can't hold its own satellite because it is too close to the sun. For this reason, any possible satellite is either sucked into the sun's orbit to melt or hit Mercury.
On the other hand, the reason why Venus has no satellites is a complete mystery, but scientists are trying to solve this problem. Many people think that the reason is the same. It is too close to the sun, and its rotation speed is very slow, which means that gravity is very weak.
Saturn is the planet with the largest number of satellites, with 53 named satellites and 29 satellites to be confirmed, totaling 82. Next is Jupiter, with 79 satellites. Ganymede, the largest satellite in our solar system, is orbiting Jupiter.
There is only one moon on the earth, and it is also famous for its name luna, Selene or Cynthia. The moon was discovered in prehistoric times, far before any other satellite.
The number of satellites on this planet
The number of satellites of dwarf planets
If a satellite's name starts with a letter and a year, just like S/2004, one of Neptune's 14 satellites, it is considered as a temporary satellite. Only after further observation confirms its discovery will the corresponding moon get a proper name.
For many years, it has been thought that only planets and dwarf planets can accommodate satellites in their orbits, but in 1993, Galileo spacecraft flew over the asteroid Ida and found a small satellite named Dactyl. After this discovery, it was determined that asteroids may also have satellites.
Besides the Earth, the first publicly published satellite discovery was made by galileo galilei in 16 10. He discovered four satellites orbiting Jupiter, which are called Galileo satellites today.
Most satellites in our solar system are named after mythical figures. For example, the newly discovered moon was named Bergelmir, after a huge Nordic god. However, the satellites of Uranus do not follow this rule. They are mainly named after literary figures, such as O 'filia and Parker in william shakespeare's plays, or Belinda and Ai Lier in alexander pope's poems.
Every moon is different in size and shape. Some of them are big enough to be rounded by their own gravity, while others still have uneven shapes.
The largest satellite in our solar system is Ganymede, a satellite of Jupiter. It reaches 5262 kilometers /3269 miles, which is bigger than Mercury.
Our moon is 3476 kilometers in size. It is the fifth largest satellite, larger than the dwarf planet Pluto.
For a life-friendly satellite, it must have an atmosphere, water and oxygen. Last but not least, the acceptable average temperature will not change much with time.
Two candidate satellites have been found in our solar system, which may have life: Jupiter's moon Europa and Saturn's moon Enceladus.
Although Enceladus looks habitable at first glance, it doesn't mean that it can sustain human life. Why? Because most of them are covered by clear ice, the surface temperature can reach-198 oC/-324 oF.
On the other hand, Europa is more suitable for sustaining life. It has been found that the tidal force between Europa and Jupiter can generate enough heat to keep water liquid and keep the temperature at an acceptable level.
Europa is the best candidate for hiding life, because it has heat source, water and oxygen-containing atmosphere. However, another problem has arisen. It is thought that Jupiter will emit some radiation, which will extend all the way to its moon. This will make life impossible on its surface, but scientists are eager to do more research.
These are the conditions for the existence of high-quality life, but some microorganisms do not need oxygen or heat to survive. For this reason, it is impossible to say whether it carries life without studying the moon in detail. Samples of soil and water must be examined to determine whether there is any form of life on the surface.
So far, no satellites orbiting other satellites have been found, but this problem does exist. Can satellites have satellites? The word "the next month" has been coined and scientists are studying it.
Theoretically, it is possible for a larger satellite to have subsatellites, but the problem is that the orbits of many subsatellites are unstable. As a result, they won't last long next month.
By 2020, there will be more than 600 satellites in our solar system. In the past few years, many new satellites have been discovered, and it is believed that many other satellites have not yet been discovered.
We know that there are 204 satellites orbiting planets, 309 asteroids, 8 dwarf planets and11/other Neptune satellites. There are 632 satellites in all.
The term extraneptune satellite is used to describe satellites orbiting asteroids in the solar system. These are not planets, but potential dwarf planets. Since June, 2020, 4 16 asteroids are suspected to have satellites.
Review the past
Space series (1 1) dwarf planet Ceres, a dwarf planet located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.
Space series (10) dwarf planet-Venus, which caused Pluto to be downgraded from a planet to a dwarf planet.
Space Series (9) The dwarf planet-the largest known dwarf planet in the solar system, Laojiu-Pluto.
Space Series (8)—— Neptune, the farthest planet in the solar system discovered by mathematical prediction.