Moons

Updated on March 8th, 2023, 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 (↗).

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 law (1967) 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
92 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.

        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
83 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).
— 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' 27 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.

Neptune's Moon

— Neptune's moons on NASA Planet Space Exploration (↗)
— Neptune's 14 moons are Despina, Galatea, Halimede, Laomedeia, Larissa, Naiad, Nereid, Neso, Proteus, Psamathe, S/2004 N1 (unconfirmed moon), Sao, Thalassa, and Triton (largest).

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.