Interesting satellites of the solar system. Interesting facts about the satellites of the solar system. Dactyl is a satellite of an asteroid

Huge orange-red Jupiter is the largest gaseous planet solar system. The ancient Romans gave her a name quite appropriate: Jupiter (among the ancient Greeks - Zeus) was the supreme god on Olympus. He has a huge number of large and small companions, who named, respectively, the names of numerous lovers, wives and descendants of the aforementioned god.

Jupiter's largest moons are Ganymede, Europa, Io, and Callisto. They are also called Galilean satellites, since the famous Galileo Galilei was the first to notice them in the sky in the winter of 1610. To do this, he needed a telescope that increases the size by 32 times.

Like Jupiter itself, its moons are very bright, and their orbits are far apart, so they are easy to see even with modern field glasses.

Eight interplanetary stations consistently explored the planet and its satellites. Based on these studies, we can confidently say that all the satellites of Jupiter are very unusual and each of them has its own "zest".

Io is the most colorful moon. This is explained by the fact that there are many actively spewing black, red, yellow, brown, orange lava on it. There are no active volcanoes on any other celestial bodies in the solar system, besides the Earth. Therefore, Io bears the title of the most volcanically active planet. And in the ionosphere of this satellite, under the influence of the magnetic field of Jupiter, high intensity flashes continuously.

Another moon of Jupiter, Europa is the brightest and smoothest solid celestial body in the solar system. Elevations on its surface do not exceed one meter in height. Asteroid craters are also shallow and almost invisible. The explanation for this phenomenon is that the entire planet is covered with a thick layer of ice, under which scientists suggest the presence of a huge salty ocean. When cracks and faults form on the surface of Europa, water enters there and immediately freezes, filling in the bumps. Moreover, in the waters of the "subglacial" ocean, there may be primitive life. True, everything is complicated by the very high on the planet. But scientists expect to solve all scientific and technical problems and carefully explore this mysterious satellite of Jupiter with the help of probes.

The largest of all moons is Ganymede. In size, it surpasses Mercury, and could well be an independent planet in the solar system, if it did not revolve around Jupiter, but around the Sun. Ganymede is covered with a layer of ice, and its thickness is much more significant than on Europa. The entire surface of the satellite is streaked with even furrows, the width of which reaches 15 km, and the length is 30 km. Another one interesting feature Ganymede is the presence of active "volcanoes" that erupt a water-salt solution, and not lava. Of the atmospheric phenomena, astronomers discovered frost, the composition of which has not been studied.

Callisto is the most distant and oldest moon of Jupiter. It also consists mainly of ice, water and minerals, and its entire surface is covered with craters of various diameters. magnetic field it doesn't have, and therefore doesn't have, a solid metal core.

In addition to the four large ones, there are also smaller satellites of Jupiter - there are about sixty of them. These are boulders, and asteroids distant from Jupiter, which fell into it, such as Karme and Sinop. There are also the so-called inner satellites of Jupiter, whose orbits pass inside the orbit of Io. On the surface of these satellites, the largest of which are called Amalthea and Adrastea, volcanic ejecta of Io settle.

Satellites are celestial bodies that orbit around a certain object in outer space under the influence of gravity. There are natural and artificial satellites.

Our space portal site invites you to get acquainted with the secrets of the Cosmos, unthinkable paradoxes, exciting mysteries of the worldview, providing in this section facts about satellites, photos and videos, hypotheses, theories, discoveries.

Among astronomers, there is an opinion that a satellite should be considered an object that rotates around a central body (asteroid, planet, dwarf planet) so that the barycenter of the system, including this object and the central body, is located inside the central body. In the event that the barycenter is outside the central body, then this object cannot be considered a satellite, since it is a component of the system that includes two or more planets (asteroids, dwarf planets). But the International Astronomical Union has not yet given exact definition satellite, claiming that this will be done in the near future. For example, the IAU continues to consider Pluto's satellite Charon.

In addition to all of the above, there are other ways to define the concept of "satellite", which you will learn about below.

Satellites to satellites

It is generally accepted that satellites can also have their own satellites, but the torrential forces of the main object in most cases would make this system extremely unstable. Scientists have assumed the presence of satellites in Iapetus, Rhea and the Moon, but to date, natural satellites have not been identified in the satellites.

Interesting Facts about satellites

Among all the planets of the solar system, Neptune and Uranus never had their own artificial satellite. Planetary satellites are small space bodies The solar system, which revolve around the planets through their attraction. To date, 34 satellites are known. Venus and Mercury, the planets closest to the Sun, do not have natural satellites. The Moon is the only satellite of the Earth.

The moons of Mars - Deimos and Phobos - are known for their small distance to the planet and relatively fast movement. The Phobos satellite sets twice during the Martian day and rises twice. Deimos moves more slowly: more than 2.5 days pass from the beginning of its sunrise to sunset. Both satellites of Mars move almost exactly in the plane of its equator. Thanks to spacecraft, it was found that Deimos and Phobos in their orbital motion have an irregular shape and remain turned to the planet with only one side. The dimensions of Deimos are about 15 km, and the dimensions of Phobos are about 27 km. The moons of Mars are composed of dark minerals and are covered with numerous craters. One of them has a diameter of 5.3 km. Probably, the craters were born by meteorite bombardment, and the origin of the parallel furrows is still unknown.

The mass density of Phobos is approximately 2 g/cm 3 . Angular velocity The movement of Phobos is very large, it is able to overtake the axial rotation of the planet and, unlike other luminaries, it sets in the east and rises in the west.

The most numerous is the system of satellites of Jupiter. Among the thirteen satellites orbiting Jupiter, four were discovered by Galileo - these are Europa, Io, Callisto and Ganymede. Two of them are comparable in size to the Moon, and the third and fourth are larger than Mercury, although they are significantly inferior in weight to it. Unlike other satellites, the Galilean satellites have been studied in more detail. In good atmospheric conditions, it is possible to distinguish satellite data disks and notice certain details on the surface.

According to the results of observations of changes in the color and brightness of the Galilean satellites, it has been established that each of them has a synchronous axial rotation with the orbital one, therefore they face Jupiter with only one side. The Voyager spacecraft took pictures of the surface of Io, on which active volcanoes are clearly visible. Bright clouds of eruption products rise above them, which are ejected to a great height. It has also been observed that there are reddish spots on the surface. Scientists suggest that these are salts evaporated from the bowels of the earth. An unusual feature of this satellite is the cloud of gases surrounding it. The Pioneer 10 spacecraft provided data that led to the discovery of the ionosphere and rarefied atmosphere of this satellite.

Among the number of Galilean satellites, it is worth highlighting Ganymede. It is the largest among all the satellites of the planets in the solar system. Its dimensions are more than 5 thousand km. From Pioneer-10, images of its surface were obtained. Spots and a bright polar cap are clearly visible in the image. Based on the results of infrared observations, it is believed that the surface of Ganymede, just like that of another satellite, Callisto, is covered with frost or water ice. Ganymede has traces of an atmosphere.

All 4 satellites are objects of 5-6th magnitude, they can be seen with any binoculars or telescope. The remaining satellites are much weaker. The closest satellite to the planet is Amalthea, it is only 2.6 radius of the planet.

The remaining eight satellites are at great distances from Jupiter. Four of them revolve around the planet in the opposite direction. In 1975, astronomers discovered an object that is the fourteenth satellite of Jupiter. To date, its orbit is unknown.

In addition to the rings, which consist of a swarm of numerous small bodies, ten satellites have been discovered in the system of the planet Saturn. These are Enceladus, Mimas, Dione, Tethys, Titan, Rhea, Iapetus, Hyperion, Janus, Phoebe. The closest to the planet is Janus. It moves very close to the planet, it was possible to identify it only during the eclipse of the rings of Saturn, which created a bright halo in the field of view of the telescope.

Titan is the largest moon of Saturn. In terms of mass and size, it is one of the largest satellites in the solar system. Its diameter is about the same as that of Ganymede. It is surrounded by an atmosphere that consists of hydrogen and methane. Opaque clouds are constantly moving in it. Only Phoebe of all satellites rotates in the forward direction.

The satellites of Uranus - Ariel, Oberon, Miranda, Titania, Umbriel - rotate in orbits whose planes almost coincide with each other. In general, the entire system is distinguished by an original inclination - its plane is almost perpendicular to the average plane of all orbits. In addition to satellites, a huge number of small particles move around Uranus, which form peculiar rings that are not similar to the known rings of Saturn.

The planet Neptune has only two moons. The first was discovered in 1846, two weeks after the discovery of the planet itself, and is called Triton. It is larger than the Moon in mass and size. Differs in the reverse direction of orbital motion. The second - Nereid - is small, characterized by a strongly elongated orbit. Direct direction of orbital motion.

Astrologers discovered a moon of Pluto in 1978. This discovery of scientists has great importance, because it makes it possible to calculate the mass of Pluto as accurately as possible from the data on the period of revolution of the satellite, and in connection with the discussion that Pluto is the “lost” satellite of Neptune.

One of the key issues of modern cosmology is the origin of satellite systems, which in the future can reveal many secrets of the Cosmos.

Captured satellites

Astronomers aren't entirely sure how moons form, but there are many working theories. Most of the smaller moons are thought to be captured asteroids. After the formation of the solar system, millions of space boulders roamed the skies. Most of them were formed from materials left over from the formation of the solar system. Perhaps others are the remnants of planets that have been shattered into pieces by massive cosmic collisions. How large quantity small satellites, the more difficult it is to explain their formation. Many of these may have originated in a region of the solar system such as the Kuiper Belt. This zone is located on top edge The solar system and is filled with a thousand planet-like objects of small size. Many astronomers believe that the planet Pluto and its moon may actually be Kuiper Belt objects and should not be classified as planets.

The fate of the satellites

Phobos - the doomed satellite of the planet Mars

Looking at the moon at night, it's hard to imagine that she would be gone. However, in the future, the Moon may indeed not exist. It turns out that the satellites are not permanent. By making measurements with laser beams, scientists have found that the Moon is moving away from our planet at a rate of about 2 inches per year. The conclusion follows from this: millions of years ago it was much closer than it is now. That is, when dinosaurs still walked on Earth, the Moon was several times closer than it is today. Many astronomers believe that one day the Moon may break free of the Earth's gravitational field and go into space.

Neptune and Triton

Other satellites also faced similar fates. For example, Phobos is actually, on the contrary, approaching the planet. And someday he will end his life, plunging into the atmosphere of Mars in fiery agony. Many other satellites can collapse under the influence of the tidal forces of the planets around which they constantly revolve.

Many of the rings surrounding the planets are composed of particles of stone and fire. They may have formed when the moon was destroyed by the planet's gravity. These particles form thin rings over time, and you can see them today. The rest of the satellites next to the rings help keep them from falling. The satellite's gravitational force keeps the particles from rolling back to the planet after being pulled out of orbit. Among scholars, they are called shepherd companions, as they help keep the rings in line, like a shepherd herding sheep. If there were no moons, Saturn's rings would have long since disappeared.

Our portal site is one of the best space sites on the internet. This section about satellites contains the most interesting, informative, informational, scientific and educational materials.

People have always wondered what is there behind the blue shell of the sky. The unknown constantly attracts attention. Let me introduce you to interesting facts about the satellites of the planets of our solar system.

The largest moon in the solar system is Ganymede. It has its own magnetic field.

Miranda is called the most "unsightly" satellite. This satellite of Uranus seemed to be blinded from separate pieces. Its entire surface is covered with irregularities and deepest canyons. Astronomers call this moon the "ugly duckling of the solar system."

The most "beaten" satellite is Callisto. Impact collisions had the main influence on the formation of its relief.

The smallest satellite is Dactyl. Its width is only one mile. Its uniqueness also lies in the fact that it revolves around an asteroid. Previously, scientists assumed that asteroids were unable to have satellites. The photo shows the satellite of Ida. The small dot on the right is the Dactyl.

The moons Epimetheus and Janus revolve around Saturn in the same orbit and just miraculously avoid a collision. Scientists suggest that before it was one satellite. The amazing thing is that once every four years, when the moment of collision comes, the satellites change places.

Enceladus is the fourteenth most distant moon of Saturn. Forms the "E" ring of the planet from the smallest particles of dust and ice. Reflects almost 100 percent of the light.

The largest moon of Neptune is Triton. This is the only satellite in the solar system that rotates in the opposite direction from the rotation of the planet itself. Triton volcanoes spew ammonia and water, which immediately turn into ice on the surface of the satellite.

Satellite Europa is a continuous ocean covered with ice. There is 3 times more water on its surface than on Earth.

Io is Jupiter's most seismically active moon. Its entire surface is covered with volcanoes that erupt almost constantly.

Titan is the largest moon of Saturn and the most mysterious in the entire solar system. It has a dense atmosphere and water reserves on the surface. Scientists have put forward an assumption about the presence of primitive life forms on it.

Satellites and planets of the solar system

The natural satellites of the planets play a colossal role in the life of these space objects. Moreover, even we humans are able to feel in our own skin the influence of the only natural satellite of our planet - the Moon.

The natural satellites of the planets of the solar system have long been of great interest to astronomers. To this day, scientists are studying them. What are these space objects?

Natural satellites of planets are cosmic bodies of natural origin that revolve around planets. The most interesting for us are the natural satellites of the planets of the solar system, since they are in close proximity to us.

There are only two planets in the solar system that do not have natural satellites. These are Venus and Mercury. Although it is assumed that earlier Mercury had natural satellites, however, this planet lost them in the course of its evolution. As for the rest of the planets of the solar system, each of them has at least one natural satellite. The most famous of them is the Moon, which is a faithful space companion of our planet. Mars has, Jupiter -, Saturn -, Uranus -, Neptune -. Among these satellites, we can find both very unremarkable objects, consisting mainly of stone, and very interesting specimens that deserve special attention, and which we will talk about below.

Satellite classification

Scientists divide the satellites of the planets into two types: satellites of artificial origin and natural. Satellites of artificial origin or, as they are also called, artificial satellites are spacecraft created by people that allow you to observe the planet around which they rotate, as well as other astronomical objects from space. Typically, artificial satellites are used to monitor the weather, broadcast, changes in the relief of the planet's surface, as well as for military purposes.

The ISS is the world's largest artificial satellite.

It should be noted that satellites of artificial origin are not only near the Earth, as many people believe. More than a dozen artificial satellites created by mankind revolve around the two planets closest to us - Venus and Mars. They allow you to observe climatic conditions, changes in terrain, as well as receive other relevant information regarding our space neighbors.

Ganymede is the largest moon in the solar system

The second category of satellites - the natural satellites of the planets, is of great interest to us in this article. Natural satellites differ from artificial ones in that they were created not by man, but by nature itself. It is believed that most of the satellites of the solar system are asteroids that were captured by the gravitational forces of the planets of this system. Subsequently, the asteroids took on a spherical shape and as a result began to orbit the planet that captured them, as a constant companion. There is also a theory that says that the natural satellites of the planets are fragments of these planets themselves, which for one reason or another broke away from the planet itself in the process of its formation. By the way, according to this theory, the natural satellite of the Earth, the Moon, arose in this way. This theory is confirmed chemical analysis composition of the moon. He showed that the chemical composition of the satellite is practically the same as chemical composition our planet, where the same chemical compounds, as on the moon.

Interesting facts about the most interesting satellites

One of the most interesting natural satellites of the planets of the solar system is - natural satellite. Charon, in comparison with Pluto, is so huge that many astronomers call these two space objects nothing more than a double dwarf planet. The planet Pluto is only twice the size of its natural satellite.

The keen interest of astronomers is a natural satellite -. Most of the natural satellites of the planets in the solar system are made up mostly of ice, rock, or both, and as a result, they lack an atmosphere. However, Titan has this, and quite dense, as well as lakes of liquid hydrocarbons.

Another natural satellite that gives scientists hope for the discovery of extraterrestrial life forms is Jupiter's satellite -. It is believed that under the thick layer of ice that covers the satellite, there is an ocean, inside which thermal springs operate - exactly the same as on Earth. Since some deep-sea life forms on Earth exist thanks to these sources, it is believed that similar life forms may exist on Titan.

The planet Jupiter has another interesting natural satellite -. Io is the only moon in the solar system where astrophysicists first discovered active volcanoes. It is for this reason that it is of particular interest to space explorers.

Natural satellite research

Studies of the natural satellites of the planets of the solar system have been of interest to the minds of astronomers since ancient times. Since the invention of the first telescope, people have been actively studying these celestial objects. The breakthrough in the development of civilization made it possible not only to discover a huge number of satellites of various planets of the solar system, but also to set foot on the main, closest to us, satellite of the Earth - the Moon. On July 21, 1969, American astronaut Neil Armstrong and his crew spaceship Apollo 11 set foot on the moon for the first time, which caused rejoicing in the hearts of the then mankind and is still considered one of the most important and significant events in space exploration.

In addition to the Moon, scientists are actively engaged in the study of other natural satellites of the planets of the solar system. To do this, astronomers use not only the methods of visual and radar observation, but also use modern spacecraft, as well as artificial satellites. For example, spacecraft"" for the first time transmitted to Earth images of several of the largest satellites of Jupiter:,. In particular, thanks to these images, scientists were able to record the presence of volcanoes on the satellite of Io, and the ocean on Europa.

To date, the global community of space explorers continues to be actively engaged in the study of natural satellites of the planets of the solar system. In addition to various government programs, there are also private projects aimed at studying these space objects. In particular, the world-famous American company "Google" is now developing a tourist lunar rover, on which many people could take a walk on the moon.

Interesting facts about the satellites of the planets. 1. The largest satellite in the solar system is Ganymede, orbiting Jupiter. It is 1.5 times the size of the Moon and even has its own magnetic field. 2. The most whimsical relief is near Miranda, a satellite of Uranus. Some of the canyons on the surface of this small moon are a dozen times deeper than the Grand Canyon on Earth. 3. Callisto, the moon of Jupiter, is known as the satellite with the largest number of craters, which cover almost its entire surface. There is no geological activity on Callisto, so the relief is not smoothed out. 4. But the other satellite of Jupiter, Io, is sometimes called the "volcanic hell" for the frenzied activity of volcanoes that dot its entire surface. Most likely, it is caused by the gravitational interaction of Jupiter itself. 5. Dactyl is the smallest moon in the solar system. It is unique in that it does not revolve around the planet, but around the asteroid Ida. 6. Saturn's moons Janus and Epimetheus were probably once one. They revolve in the same orbit, and every four years, when it seems that they are about to collide, they simply change places. 7. On Saturn's moon Enceladus, there are cryovolcanoes and geysers that actively eject matter to great heights. It is from the substance ejected by Enceladus into outer space that one of the numerous rings of Saturn is formed. 8. The only known satellite orbiting in opposite planet side - Triton, a satellite of Neptune. 9. There are many active and active cryovolcanoes on Triton, spewing water and ammonia. 10. Sooner or later, Triton will be destroyed by the gravitational influence of Neptune, after which, most likely, it will form a ring around the planet. 11. Europa, the moon of Jupiter, is supposed to have an ocean liquid water under a layer of ice covering the entire surface of the satellite. 12. According to rough estimates, there is several times more water on Europa than on Earth. 13. In addition, Europa has the smoothest surface of all the celestial bodies in our system. 14. The only satellite with an atmosphere is Titus. Its atmosphere is 1.5 times denser than Earth's, so its surface cannot be observed from space in the visible spectrum. The first photos of lakes, rivers and mountains on Titan were obtained after the successful landing of the Huygens space probe on it. 15. Mars' moon Phobos sets and rises twice a day. 16. The most geologically active object in the solar system is the aforementioned satellite of Jupiter, Io. 17. Satellites Titan and Ganymede are larger than the planet Mercury. 18. Saturn's moon Rhea supposedly has its own rings, but this has not yet been confirmed. 19. On Saturn's moon, Mimas, there is a huge crater, the diameter of which is about a quarter of the diameter of Mimas itself. 20. On another satellite of Saturn, Tethys, there is a huge rift. It passes along the surface of the satellite, and is equal to 80% of the equator in length. 21. The largest crater on Tethys has a diameter of a third of the diameter of Tethys itself. It is not clear how this small satellite did not break into pieces from an impact of such force. 22. Iapetus, revolving around Saturn at a distance of four million kilometers, is remarkable in that one half of it is completely smooth, and the other is completely covered with craters. This fact has not yet been explained.