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This ring system may have originated from a large asteroid that passed by Earth at this time and had a significant amount of debris stripped by Earth's gravitational pull, forming a ring system. Evidence for this ring comes from impact craters from the Ordovician meteor event appearing to cluster in a distinctive band around the Earth's equator ...
According to the IAU's explicit count, there are eight planets in the Solar System; four terrestrial planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars) and four giant planets, which can be divided further into two gas giants (Jupiter and Saturn) and two ice giants (Uranus and Neptune). When excluding the Sun, the four giant planets account for more than ...
Although the Moon is Earth's only natural satellite, there are a number of near-Earth objects (NEOs) with orbits that are in resonance with Earth. These have been called "second" moons of Earth or "minimoons". [2] [3] 469219 Kamoʻoalewa, an asteroid discovered on 27 April 2016, is possibly the most stable quasi-satellite of Earth. [4]
The planetary-mass moons to scale, compared with Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, and Pluto. Sub-planetary Proteus and Nereid (about the same size as Mimas) have been included for comparison. Unimaged Dysnomia (intermediate in size between Tethys and Enceladus) is not shown; it is in any case probably not a solid body. [90]
Famously known for its extensive ring system, Saturn is one of four planets in our solar system that have the distinctive feature. And now, scientists hypothesize that Earth may have sported its ...
It has one known moon, S/2015 (136472) 1. [214] Quaoar (41.9–45.5 AU) is the second-largest known object in the classical Kuiper belt, after Makemake. Its orbit is significantly less eccentric and inclined than those of Makemake or Haumea. [205] It possesses a ring system and one known moon, Weywot. [215]
The 19 moons that are known to be large enough to have been rounded by their own gravity are listed in bold. The seven largest moons, which are larger than any of the known dwarf planets, are listed in bold and italic. Sidereal period differs from semi-major axis because a moon's speed depends both on the mass of its primary and its distance ...
Of the inner planets, Mercury and Venus have no natural satellites; Earth has one large natural satellite, known as the Moon; and Mars has two tiny natural satellites, Phobos and Deimos. The giant planets have extensive systems of natural satellites, including half a dozen comparable in size to Earth's Moon: the four Galilean moons , Saturn's ...