Moons

Earth’s moon

This moon, also called Luna, is the fifth-largest satellite in the solar system, the largest relative to the size of the planet it orbits, and the second densest. The USSR’s Luna unmanned spacecraft first reached the moon in 1959, and Apollo 8 became the first manned mission to orbit the moon, in 1968. The 1967 Outer Space Treaty guarantees the rights of all nations to explore the moon for peaceful purposes.

The flat dark lunar plains are called maria (singular: mare) and are mainly concentrated on the near side of the moon. The most famous one is Mare Tranquillitatis, the Sea of Tranquility, where Apollo 11 first landed on the moon in 1969. The Apollo program landed on the moon five more times.

Phobos

Both this (“fear”) and Mars’ smaller moon Deimos (“dread”) were discovered by Asaph Hall III in 1877. At just 3,700 miles above the Martian surface, this orbits more closely to its planet than any other moon in the Solar System. Because it orbits Mars faster than Mars rotates, each day it appears (from the Martian surface) to set twice in the east. Geological features, including the Stickney Crater, are primarily named for either astronomers (Stickney was the maiden name of Asaph Hall’s wife) or characters from Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels. In 1971 the U.S.’s Mariner IX became the first spacecraft to provide close-up photos of this moon.

Deimos

One-seventh the mass of Phobos and further away from the Martian surface, this was found by Asaph Hall at the U.S. Naval Observatory six days before he discovered Phobos. Its largest and only named craters are Swift and Voltaire; its surface doesn’t appear as rough as Phobos’s because regolith has filled in some of the craters. A still-controversial and unproven hypothesis holds that this (and possibly Phobos as well) were asteroids perturbed out of their orbit by Jupiter and then captured by the gravity of Mars.

Io

the innermost of the four Galilean moons of Jupiter (the moons discovered by Galileo), the fourth-largest moon in the solar system, the densest moon, and the most geologically active body in the solar system, with more than 400 volcanoes. Its features are named for characters from the namesake story in Greek mythology; fire, volcano, and thunder deities from other mythologies; and characters from Dante’s Inferno. This plays a significant role in shaping Jupiter’s magnetosphere. Pioneer 10 first passed by this in December 1973.

Ganymede

the largest moon in the solar system and the only one known to have its own magnetosphere. The third of the Galilean satellites, this was also first photographed close-up by Pioneer 10 in 1973. Galileo made six flybys of this between 1996 and 2000. Based on a suggestion from Simon Marius, this (along with many of the Jovian satellites) is named for one of Jupiter’s lovers in Roman mythology; this is the only such moon named for a male figure. Many of its features, including the Enki Catena, are given names from Egyptian and Babylonian mythology, although its largest dark plain is Galileo Regio. This is scheduled to be orbited by the European Space Agency’s Jupiter Icy Moon Explorer (JUICE), which launched in 2023.

Titan

the largest moon of Saturn and the second largest in the solar system. Until Voyager 1 visited in 1980, it was thought to be larger than Ganymede. It is the only known satellite with a dense atmosphere — so dense that it makes observation of surface features nearly impossible except from close up — and also the only known satellite for which there is evidence of stable bodies of surface liquid. Discovered in 1655 by Christiaan Huygens, it was visited by the Cassini-Huygens mission in 2004. Its albedo features, such as the highly reflective area Xanadu, are named for sacred or enchanted places from world literature and mythology. Because of its nitrogen-rich atmosphere and the presence of surface liquid, this is often thought to be the most likely place in the solar system for microbial life to exist outside of Earth.

Iapetus

Saturn’s third-largest moon after Titan and Rhea and, like Rhea, was discovered by Giovanni Cassini in 1671. It was named based upon a suggestion from John Herschel (son of the discoverer of Uranus, William Herschel) for the [namesakes] of Greek mythology, the brothers and sisters of Cronos (Saturn). This has a distinctive two-tone coloration; part of it is red-brown, while part is bright gray. Features on this are named for people and places from the French Song of Roland, including Charlemagne Crater and the bright northern region Roncevaux Terra. In 2004 the Cassini orbiter found an equatorial ridge running over 800 miles long and 10 miles wide that gives this some of the highest peaks in the solar system; its existence has not yet been explained.

Titania

This, Uranus’s largest moon, is named for a character from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. (Other Uranian moons are named for characters from either Shakespeare or Alexander Pope.) This was discovered on the same day as the second largest in 1787 by William Herschel, who also discovered Uranus itself in 1781. In 1986 Voyager 2 became the only spacecraft to date to visit the Uranian moons. Because Uranus orbits the sun almost on its side and this orbits Uranus in the same plane as its equator, the moon has extreme seasons: its poles spend over 42 years in nonstop sunlight followed by 42 years of darkness. Most of its features are named for settings or female characters from Shakespeare — its largest crater is Gertrude Crater, after Hamlet’s mother. — while most of [the other one’s] are named after settings or male characters from Shakespeare. However, this one’s largest feature is Mommur Chasma, which is named from a French epic poem.

Oberon

This, Uranus’s second largest moon, is named for a character from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. (Other Uranian moons are named for characters from either Shakespeare or Alexander Pope.) This was discovered on the same day as the largest in 1787 by William Herschel, who also discovered Uranus itself in 1781. In 1986 Voyager 2 became the only spacecraft to date to visit the Uranian moons. Because Uranus orbits the sun almost on its side and this orbits Uranus in the same plane as its equator, the moons have extreme seasons. Most of its features are named after settings or male characters from Shakespeare. However, its largest feature is Mommur Chasma, which is named from a French epic poem.

Triton

The largest moon of Neptune and the only large moon with a retrograde orbit (that is, an orbit opposite to the rotation of its planet), this is the seventh-largest moon in the solar system and is thought to have been captured from the Kuiper Belt. For over 100 years after its 1846 discovery, this was thought to be Neptune’s only moon; Nereid wasn’t discovered until 1949. (There are fourteen known satellites now.) This moon is geologically active and has geysers that are assumed to erupt nitrogen. Because of the activity, impact craters are relatively scarce; most of the larger craters were formed by volcanic activity. This orbits around Neptune in almost a perfect circle. Voyager 2 visited this in 1989 and is the only space probe to have done so (and no more are currently planned). Much of its western hemisphere consists of an unexplained series of fissures and depressions sometimes called “cantaloupe terrain.” Triton’s features are named after various water spirits, monsters, and sacred waters from mythology.

Charon

The largest satellite of the dwarf planet Pluto, this wasn’t discovered until 1978. (As of 2013, Pluto has five known moons, the last two discovered in 2011 and 2012.) Unlike Pluto, which is covered with nitrogen and methane ices, this appears to be covered in water ice and may also have active cryo-geysers. Because the center of mass of the Pluto-[this] system lies outside of either one, this doesn’t truly orbit Pluto; when Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet in 2006, an argument was made (but not accepted) to classify them as a binary system. The IAU still considers this, which is roughly half the size but has only 11% the mass of Pluto, to be a satellite. The New Horizons mission visited this and Pluto in 2015.

This was named by its discoverer, James Christy of the Flagstaff Naval Observatory; the IAU approved the name in 1985. Internationally this is pronounced like the Greek mythological figure, “CARE-on”, but Christy’s choice of name was inspired by his wife Charlene, so NASA and New Horizons personnel use “SHARE-on”.