Moons

Updated in August 2025, this page features an overview of the moons encircling around planets in the Solar System. Planets (and the dwarf planet Pluto) are listed in positional order ("My very excellent mother just served us nine pizzas" = "Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto) More information about these moons can be found on the NASA Solar System Exploration website (↗) and this Jet Propulsion Laboratory webpage (↗).

Size Comparison of Moons
Below is a ranking of some well-known moons in our solar system.

Mercury and Venus do not have Moons.

Earth's Moon

— Earth's moon on NASA Planet Space Exploration (↗)
— As of 2018, 24 people and over 100 robotic rovers visited the moon. 12 people (moonwalkers) walked on the moon.
— Simply known as the Moon, this satellite and orbiter of our planet sits approximately 384,000 kilometers, 239,000 miles, and 0.00257 AU (astronomical units) away from the Earth.
— The Moon completes an orbit cycle around Earth in 27 Earth days. The Moon keeps the same side/face towards Earth during its orbit, hence why there is a "far side" (or colloquially known as the "dark side").
— While there is a United States flag planted on the moon, an international United Nations law in 1967 known as the Outer Space Treaty does not allow countries to own planets, stars, or any other cosmic objects in space.

Mar's Moons

— Mars' moons on NASA Planet Space Exploration (↗)
— Mar's 2 moons are Deimos and Phobos. Deimos is the smaller moon, while Phobos is the larger moon. Both were discovered by Asaph Hall in 1877.

Jupiter's Moons
97 total

— Jupiter's moons on NASA Planet Space Exploration (↗)
— The four largest moons are called the Galilean Moons, since astronomer Galileo Galilei discovered them. These moons are Callisto (Jupiter's 2nd largest), Europa (4th), Ganymede (largest), and Io (3rd).
— Ganymede is the solar system's largest moon.
— Jupiter's moons are named after Greek mythological figures. As of August 2025, the two newest official announced moons are temporarily called S/2017 J10 and S/2017 J11; it is likely that these two moons will eventually have Greek-inspired names as well.

        Original image source: Wikipedia Galilean Moons page (↗)

Some Other Jovian Moons
Adrastea, Aitne, Amalthea, Ananke, Aoede, Arche, Autonoe, Callirrhoe, Carme, Carpo, Chaldene, Cyllene, Dia, Elara (Jupiter's 8th largest), Erinome, Eukelade, Eaunthe, Euporie, Eurydome, Harpalyke, Hegemone, Helike, Hermippe, Herse, Himalia (5th), Iocaste, Isonoe, Jupiter LI (51), Jupiter LII (52), Kale (Cale), Kallichore, Kalyke, Kore, Leda, Lysithea, Megaclite, Metis, Mneme, Orthosie, Pasiphae, Pasithe, Praxidike, Sinope, Sponde, Thebe, Themisto, Taygete, Thelxinoë, and Thyone

Jupiter's Eight-Largest Moons
1. Ganymede
2. Callisto
3. Io
4. Europa
5. Himalia
6. Amalthea
7. Thebe
8. Elara

Saturn's Moons
274 total

— Saturn's moons on NASA Planet Space Exploration (↗)
— Saturn's moons include Aegaeon, Aegir, Albiorix, Atlas, Bebhionn, Bergelmir, Bestla, Calypso, Daphnis, Dione (4th largest), Enceladus (6th), Erriapus, Farbauti, Greip, Helene, Hyperion, Iapetus (3rd), Jarnsaxa, Kari, Kiviuq, Loge, Methone, Mimas (7th), Mundilfari, Narvi, Paaliaq, Pan, Pandora, Phoebe, Polydeuces (Pollux), Rhea (2nd), Siarnaq, Skoll, Suttungr, Tarqeq, Tethys (5th), Thrymr (Þrymr), Titan (largest), and Ymir (Bláinn).
— 128 small moons were officially added in March 2025 by the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center. The information was provided in the IAU's Minor Planet Electronic Circular. Therefore, Saturn's moon total almost doubled, going from 146 to 274!
— Did you Know? The second-largest moon in the solar system, Titan (Saturn's largest moon), has its own atmosphere. A moon having this characteristic is extremely rare!

Uranus' Moon

— Uranus' moons on NASA Planet Space Exploration (↗)
— Uranus' 28 moons are Ariel, Belinda, Bianca, Caliban, Cordelia, Cressida, Cupid, Desdemona, Ferdinand, Francisco, Juliet, Mab, Margaret, Miranda, Oberon, Ophelia, Perdita, Portia, Prospero, Puck, Rosalind, Setebos, Stephano, Sycorax, Titania (largest), Trinculo, and Umbriel.
— The "literary moons" of Uranus are named after characters created by William Shakespeare and Alexander Pope.
— Discovered by renown astronomer Scott Sheppard, the newest official moon is currently called S/2023 U1.

Neptune's Moon

— Neptune's moons on NASA Planet Space Exploration (↗)
— Neptune's 16 moons are Despina, Galatea, Halimede, Hippocamp (original name is S/2004 N1 which was discovered and announced in 2013), Laomedeia, Larissa, Naiad, Nereid, Neso, Proteus, Psamathe, Sao, Thalassa, Triton (largest), S/2002 N5 (discovered 2002, announced 2024), and S/2021 N1 (discovered 2021, announced 2024).

Pluto's Moon

— Pluto's moons on NASA Planet Space Exploration (↗)
— Dwarf planet Pluto's 5 moons are Charon (the largest), Hydra, Kerberos, Nix, and Styx. Charon was first spotted in 1978, Hydra in 2005, Kerberos in 2011, Nix in 2005, and Styx in 2012.