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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]
Smaller moons may (and most likely do) exist around each of these planets, but are currently undetectable from Earth. Although spacecraft have visited all of these planets, Earth-based telescopes continue to outperform them in moon-detection ability due to their greater availability for wide-field surveys. [citation needed]
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 Titan, and Neptune's Triton. Saturn has an additional six mid-sized natural satellites massive enough to have achieved hydrostatic equilibrium , and Uranus has five.
A Search for Objects near the Earth–Moon Lagrangian Points, by Francisco Valdes and Robert A. Freitas Jr., did not find any objects at the Earth–Moon or Earth–Sun lagrange points, but this survey was not sensitive to diffuse clouds. Roach, J. R. (January 1975). "Counterglow from the earth-moon libration points". Planetary and Space Science.
Stars in the night sky. The night sky is the nighttime appearance of celestial objects like stars, planets, and the Moon, which are visible in a clear sky between sunset and sunrise, when the Sun is below the horizon. Natural light sources in a night sky include moonlight, starlight, and airglow, depending on location and timing.
J1407b is a substellar object, either a free-floating planet or brown dwarf, with a massive circumplanetary disk or ring system. It was first detected by automated telescopes in 2007 when its disk eclipsed the star V1400 Centauri, causing a series of dimming events for 56 days. The eclipse by J1407b was not discovered until 2010, by Mark Pecaut ...
Some planetary rings are influenced by shepherd moons, small moons that orbit near the inner or outer edges of a ringlet or within gaps in the rings. The gravity of shepherd moons serves to maintain a sharply defined edge to the ring; material that drifts closer to the shepherd moon's orbit is either deflected back into the body of the ring ...
The 400-meter moonlet Earhart in Saturn's A Ring, just outside the Encke Gap Another image of Earhart Another moonlet named Bleriot A moonlet named Santos-Dumont A moonlet in Saturn's A ring A moonlet , minor moon , minor natural satellite , or minor satellite is a particularly small natural satellite orbiting a planet , dwarf planet , or other ...