Moons are referred to as natural satellites because they naturally orbit around their respective planets Hill sphere (counterclockwise) . Artificial satellites, on the other hand, are manually placed in specific regions of space to orbit Earth, Saturn, Jupiter, etc. to deliver services, whether images, telecommunication, or weather reports for scientific and recreational use. For a … Read more
Larger planets like Saturn or Jupiter have more moons than smaller planets due to 2 main reasons. This is because of the strength of their gravitational pull (Hill sphere) and the gravitational effects their parent star has over their domain. If these 2 are harmonious larger planets will almost always have more moons as the … Read more
If you’re sole goal is simply to observe the moon, the number of telescopes fit for the job are almost endless, taking into account we can see the moons with our own eyes. Monoculars, binoculars or even your modern day smartphone will allow you to get a decent glimpse of the lunar surface. However, they … Read more
If the Moon had a submoon, then it would orbit the Moon like moons orbit planets, governed by the same gravitational and other physical laws. A submoon of the Moon could only exist sustainably in a limited region of space between the Moon and Earth, with orbit and spin determined largely by the Moon. Outside … Read more
You’ve found yourself here because you really want to know if moons are always smaller than planets right? Well the very quick answer to this is a definitive no, moons are not always smaller however, whenever a moon orbits a planet or other objects like asteroids, they are almost always smaller than the primary planet … Read more
