Sure, you probably know plenty about Earth’s moon. You probably know that Neil Armstrong landed on the moon in 1969. You probably even know that the gravitational pull of the moon affects the waves in the ocean. But, did you know that there are over a hundred moons in our solar system? Some planets have no moons, while others have dozens. Let’s dive into the many moons of our solar system so you can add that knowledge into your brain for future trivia night purposes.
The Moons of Mars
Mars has two moons known as Deimos and Phobos. These two little moons were asteroids captured by Mars’ gravitational pull long ago, and are so tiny that even large telescopes don’t allow us to see them clearly from Earth’s surface.
The Moons of Jupiter
With a whopping sixty-seven moons, Jupiter has the most orbiting satellites within the solar system. We can see the four Galilean moons from Earth with binoculars or a telescope. These four moons are called Ganymede, Callisto, Io and Europa.
The Moons of Saturn
Coming in second place for the most moons, Saturn has sixty-two that revolve around the planet. If you’ve got a decent-sized telescope and the night is clear, you’ll be able to see six of Saturn’s moons. These six are better known as Titan, Rhea, Iapetus, Dione, Tethys and Enceladus.
The Moons of Uranus
While Uranus has many less moons than Jupiter and Saturn, it still has quite a few held by their gravitational pull. The only Uranus moon that we can see from Earth is Titania, and it requires a larger telescope.
The Moons of Neptune
Out of the fourteen moons of Neptune, the only one that we can view from Earth is called Triton. The name is rather fitting considering Neptune is the Greek god of the sea, Triton was the messenger of the sea and the planet is a beautiful blue just like Earth’s oceans.
The Moons of Dwarf Pluto
Although Pluto was demoted from a planet to a dwarf planet, it still has five moons of its own. Charon, Hydra, Nix, Kerberos and Styx all orbit Pluto, although they are not visible from Earth. In fact, Pluto’s largest moon, Charon, is nearly half as large as Pluto itself!
While the above planets have their own moons, Mercury and Venus do not. Could you imagine looking up at the night sky and not seeing the big beautiful moon? We definitely could not! You can view Earth’s moon perfectly from our rooftop terrace bar. Grab a drink with your pals and view all of the celestial wonders, then crash land into one of our beautiful suites!