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Dark spot, may be irregular MA Mare, maria / ˈ m ɑːr iː,-eɪ /, / ˈ m ɑːr i ə / A "sea": on the Moon, a low albedo, relatively smooth plain, generally of large extent; on Mars, dark albedo area, e.g. Mare Erythraeum; on Titan, large expanses of dark materials thought to be liquid hydrocarbons, e.g. Ligeia Mare. ME Mensa, mensae / ˈ m ...
In the early days, only a very limited number of features could be seen on other Solar System bodies other than the Moon. Craters on the Moon could be observed with even some of the earliest telescopes, and 19th-century telescopes could make out some features on Mars. Jupiter had its famous Great Red Spot, also visible through early telescopes.
Typically, a rille can be several kilometers wide and hundreds of kilometers in length. However, the term has also been used loosely to describe similar structures on a number of planets in the Solar System, including Mars, Venus, and on a number of moons. All bear a structural resemblance to each other.
Planetary formation – formation of planets and moons in the context of the formation and evolution of the Solar System. Planetary rings – dynamics, stability, and composition of planetary rings; Magnetospheres – magnetic fields of planets and moons; Planetary surfaces – surface geology of planets and moons
The eclipse by J1407b was not discovered until 2010, by Mark Pecaut and Eric Mamajek, and was announced in 2012. J1407b's disk spans a radius of about 90 million kilometers (56 million miles) and consists of many rings and gaps which may indicate moons are forming in orbit around the object. It was initially thought to be orbiting V1400 ...
All except Mercury and Venus have natural satellites, often called "moons". Earth has one, Mars has two, and the giant planets have numerous moons in complex planetary-type systems. Except for Ceres and Sedna, all the consensus dwarf planets are known to have at least one moon as well.
The Galilean moons are named after Galileo Galilei, who observed them in either December 1609 or January 1610, and recognized them as satellites of Jupiter in March 1610; [2] they remained the only known moons of Jupiter until the discovery of the fifth largest moon of Jupiter Amalthea in 1892. [3]
An artist's impression of Rhea's rings. The density of the particles is exaggerated greatly to aid visibility. [1] Rhea, the second-largest moon of Saturn, may have a tenuous ring system consisting of three narrow, relatively dense bands within a particulate disk. This would be the first discovery of rings around a moon.