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Space Telescope Science Institute
Space Telescope Science Institute

@SpaceTelescope

6 Tweets Aug 21, 2023
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It’s #SpaceTelescopeQuiz time! Where are moons in our solar system? Answer in the poll below.
Bonus: Tell us which planet has the highest count!
Answer appears tomorrow!
Planet Uranus is on a black background just left of center. It is light blue and has a large, white patch on the right side, along with two bright spots and a surrounding system of nested rings oriented vertically. Just below the planet at 7 o’clock is a faint blue moon. Brighter blue points, also moons, are at 8 o’clock, 5 o’clock, and 3 o’clock. Farther from the planet, two additional blue moons are at 7 o’clock and 5 o’clock. Faint orange smudges are scattered in the background.
Where are moons in our solar system?
It’s #SpaceTelescopeQuiz answer time! If you answered D, all of the above, you are correct. There are hundreds of moons in our solar system! Where are they? (1/4)
Planet Uranus is on a black background just left of center. It is light blue and has a large, white patch on the right side, along with two bright spots and a surrounding system of nested rings oriented vertically. Just below the planet at 7 o’clock is a faint blue moon labeled Puck. Brighter blue moons at 8 o’clock, 5 o’clock, and 3 o’clock are labeled Ariel, Miranda, and Umbriel, respectively. Farther from the planet, two additional blue moons at 7 o’clock and 5 o’clock are labeled Titania and Oberon. Faint orange smudges are scattered in the background.
Moons are found orbiting planets, dwarf planets, and even asteroids, Kuiper Belt Objects, and Trans-Neptunian Objects.
Also called natural satellites, moons come in many shapes, sizes, and types. They are generally solid bodies. Few have atmospheres. (2/4)
Which “host” has the most moons? Let’s look at the numbers:
Earth: 1
Mars: 2
Jupiter: 95
Saturn: 146
Uranus: 27 (shown at top with 6 of its moons)
Neptune: 14
Pluto: 5
Do these numbers surprise you? (3/4)
Some moons probably formed from the disks of gas and dust circulating around their parent body millions of years ago. Others may have formed around the Sun and were later captured by planets.
Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI; Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI). (4/4)

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