Planetary Satellites SatelliteAny body that orbits antoher Natural satellites are moons 6 of the 8 planets have at least one moon Mercury and Venus do NOT have a moon
Earth1 moon
Mars2 moons Phobus & Deimos
JupiterAt least 28 moons 4 largest are Io, Ganymede, Europa and Callisto
Saturn24 moons Largest is Titan
Uranus21 moons 5 major moons are Titania, Oberon, Umbriel, Ariel and Miranda
Neptune8 moons Triton is the largest
Pluto1 moons Charon – almost the same size as Pluto
Solar System Debris CometsA mixture of dust, gas and ice that orbits the sun Nicknamed “dirty snowballs” Haley’s comet comes around every 76 years, last seen in 1986
CometComa (ice and dust) and a tail (gas)
Comets orbit the sun…. The tail of the comet gets “blown” away by the solar wind
Asteroids Solid, rock-like fragments orbiting the sun between mars and jupiter
MeteoroidsIcy, rocky fragments anywhere in space
MeteorsMeteoroids that enter Earth’s atmosphere and begin to “burn” due to the presence of oxygen
Meteor Showers“shooting stars”
Meteorites A meteoroid that survives the trip through our atmosphere and actually impacts the Earth’s surface, forming impact craters