Contents
- Preface
1Science and the Universe: A Brief Tour
2Observing the Sky: The Birth of Astronomy
7Other Worlds: An Introduction to the Solar System
13Comets and Asteroids: Debris of the Solar System
14Cosmic Samples and the Origin of the Solar System
18The Stars: A Celestial Census
20Between the Stars: Gas and Dust in Space
21The Birth of Stars and the Discovery of Planets outside the Solar System
27Active Galaxies, Quasars, and Supermassive Black Holes
- AHow to Study for an Introductory Astronomy Class
- BAstronomy Websites, Images, and Apps
- CScientific Notation
- DUnits Used in Science
- ESome Useful Constants for Astronomy
- FPhysical and Orbital Data for the Planets
- GSelected Moons of the Planets
- HFuture Total Eclipses
- IThe Nearest Stars, Brown Dwarfs, and White Dwarfs
- JThe Brightest Twenty Stars
- KThe Chemical Elements
- LThe Constellations
- MStar Chart and Sky Event Resources
- Index
G
Selected Moons of the Planets
Appendix
G
Selected Moons of the Planets
Note: As this book goes to press, nearly two hundred moons are now known in the solar system and more are being discovered on a regular basis. Of the major planets, only Mercury and Venus do not have moons. In addition to moons of the planets, there are many moons of asteroids. In this appendix, we list only the largest and most interesting objects that orbit each planet (including dwarf planets). The number given for each planet is discoveries through 2015. For further information see https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/solarsystem/moons and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_natural_satellites.
Selected Moons of the Planets
| Planet (moons) | Satellite Name | Discovery | Semimajor Axis (km × 1000) | Period (d) | Diameter (km) | Mass (1020 kg) | Density (g/cm3) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Earth (1) | Moon | — | 384 | 27.32 | 3476 | 735 | 3.3 |
| Mars (2) | Phobos | Hall (1877) | 9.4 | 0.32 | 23 | 1 × 10−4 | 2.0 |
| Deimos | Hall (1877) | 23.5 | 1.26 | 13 | 2 × 10−5 | 1.7 | |
| Jupiter (79) | Amalthea | Barnard (1892) | 181 | 0.50 | 200 | — | — |
| Thebe | Voyager (1979) | 222 | 0.67 | 90 | — | — | |
| Io | Galileo (1610) | 422 | 1.77 | 3630 | 894 | 3.6 | |
| Europa | Galileo (1610) | 671 | 3.55 | 3138 | 480 | 3.0 | |
| Ganymede | Galileo (1610) | 1070 | 7.16 | 5262 | 1482 | 1.9 | |
| Callisto | Galileo (1610) | 1883 | 16.69 | 4800 | 1077 | 1.9 | |
| Himalia | Perrine (1904) | 11,460 | 251 | 170 | — | — | |
| Saturn (82) | Pan | Voyager (1985) | 133.6 | 0.58 | 20 | 3 × 10−5 | — |
| Atlas | Voyager (1980) | 137.7 | 0.60 | 40 | — | — | |
| Prometheus | Voyager (1980) | 139.4 | 0.61 | 80 | — | — | |
| Pandora | Voyager (1980) | 141.7 | 0.63 | 100 | — | — | |
| Janus | Dollfus (1966) | 151.4 | 0.69 | 190 | — | — | |
| Epimetheus | Fountain, Larson (1980) | 151.4 | 0.69 | 120 | — | — | |
| Mimas | Herschel (1789) | 186 | 0.94 | 394 | 0.4 | 1.2 | |
| Enceladus | Herschel (1789) | 238 | 1.37 | 502 | 0.8 | 1.2 | |
| Tethys | Cassini (1684) | 295 | 1.89 | 1048 | 7.5 | 1.3 | |
| Dione | Cassini (1684) | 377 | 2.74 | 1120 | 11 | 1.3 | |
| Rhea | Cassini (1672) | 527 | 4.52 | 1530 | 25 | 1.3 | |
| Titan | Huygens (1655) | 1222 | 15.95 | 5150 | 1346 | 1.9 | |
| Hyperion | Bond, Lassell (1848) | 1481 | 21.3 | 270 | — | — | |
| Iapetus | Cassini (1671) | 3561 | 79.3 | 1435 | 19 | 1.2 | |
| Phoebe | Pickering (1898) | 12,950 | 550 (R)1 1 R stands for retrograde rotation (backward from the direction that most objects in the solar system revolve and rotate). |
220 | — | — | |
| Uranus (27) | Puck | Voyager (1985) | 86.0 | 0.76 | 170 | — | — |
| Miranda | Kuiper (1948) | 130 | 1.41 | 485 | 0.8 | 1.3 | |
| Ariel | Lassell (1851) | 191 | 2.52 | 1160 | 13 | 1.6 | |
| Umbriel | Lassell (1851) | 266 | 4.14 | 1190 | 13 | 1.4 | |
| Titania | Herschel (1787) | 436 | 8.71 | 1610 | 35 | 1.6 | |
| Oberon | Herschel (1787) | 583 | 13.5 | 1550 | 29 | 1.5 | |
| Neptune (14) | Despina | Voyager (1989) | 53 | 0.33 | 150 | — | — |
| Galatea | Voyager (1989) | 62 | 0.40 | 150 | — | — | |
| Larissa | Reitsema, et al (1981) | 74 | 0.55 | 194 | — | — | |
| Proteus | Voyager (1989) | 118 | 1.12 | 420 | — | — | |
| Triton | Lassell (1846) | 355 | 5.88 (R)2 2 R stands for retrograde rotation (backward from the direction that most objects in the solar system revolve and rotate). |
2720 | 220 | 2.1 | |
| Nereid | Kuiper (1949) | 5511 | 360 | 340 | — | — | |
| Pluto (5) | Charon | Christy (1978) | 19.7 | 6.39 | 1200 | — | 1.7 |
| Styx | Showalter et al (2012) | 42 | 20 | 20 | — | — | |
| Nix | Weaver et al (2005) | 48 | 24 | 46 | — | 2.1 | |
| Kerberos | Showalter et al (2011) | 58 | 24 | 28 | — | 1.4 | |
| Hydra | Weaver et al (2005) | 65 | 38 | 61 | — | 0.8 | |
| Eris (1) | Dysnomea | Brown et al (2005) | 38 | 16 | 684 | — | — |
| Makemake (1) | (MK2) | Parker et al (2016) | — | — | 160 | — | — |
| Haumea (2) | Hi’iaka | Brown et al (2005) | 50 | 49 | 400 | — | — |
| Namaka | Brown et al (2005) | 39 | 35 | 200 | — | — |
Table
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