Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Its eight regular moons are grouped into the planet-sized Galilean moons and the far smaller Amalthea group. They were named after lovers of Zeus, the Greek equivalent of Jupiter. Among them is Ganymede, the largest and most massive moon in the Solar System. Its 87 known irregular moons are organized into two categories: prograde and retrograde.
The seven largest natural satellites in the Solar System (those bigger than 2,500 km across) are Jupiter's Galilean moons (Ganymede, Callisto, Io, and Europa), Saturn's moon Titan, Earth's moon, and Neptune's captured natural satellite Triton. Triton, the smallest of these, has more mass than all smaller natural satellites together.
Moon Mimas and Ida, an asteroid with its own moon, Dactyl; Comet Lovejoy and Jupiter, a giant gas planet; The Sun; Sirius A with Sirius B, a white dwarf; the Crab Nebula, a remnant supernova; A black hole (artist concept); Vela Pulsar, a rotating neutron star; M80, a globular cluster, and the Pleiades, an open star cluster
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It orbits at an average distance of 384,400 km (238,900 mi), about 30 times the diameter of Earth. Tidal forces between Earth and the Moon have synchronized the Moon's orbital period (lunar month) with its rotation period at 29.5 Earth days, causing the same side of the Moon to always face Earth.
As of 2022, three bodies in the Solar System, the Moon, Mars and Ryugu [71] have been visited by mobile rovers. The first robotic rover to visit another celestial body was the Soviet Lunokhod 1, which landed on the Moon in 1970. The first to visit another planet was Sojourner, which travelled 500 metres across the surface of Mars in 1997.
Space stations, rockets, satellites, space junk as well as Sun, Moon, and planetary data are given. The authors also offer a freeware mobile app that shows similar information for the user's location. [2] A ground track from Heavens-Above. An observer in Sicily can see the International Space Station when it enters the circle at 9:26 pm.
There are 293 confirmed moons in our cosmic neighborhood. By studying these worlds, astronomers hope to learn about ancient asteroid collisions, space volcanoes, and the origins of life itself.
Planetary science (or more rarely, planetology) is the scientific study of planets (including Earth), celestial bodies (such as moons, asteroids, comets) and planetary systems (in particular those of the Solar System) and the processes of their formation.