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What Is a Satellite and What Is the Difference Between a Satellite and a Moon In Astronomy?

By Karen Hill

A natural satellite is a celestial body that orbits a planet or smaller body and is also commonly referred to as a moon.

They’re both essentially the same thing.

A satellite is an object that orbits another, parent, object.

For instance, the Moon is Earth’s satellite, and the Earth is a satellite of the Sun.

The solar system is a satellite of the Milky Way’s nucleus.

All planets, except for Mercury and Venus, have at least one satellite, or moon.

Earth has one satellite called the Moon. Saturn has at least 62 moons, of which, Titan is the largest.

In 2009, 336 bodies in the solar system were formally classified as moons.

These days some satellites can be fabricated, such as space stations.

Related

  • What Is Astronomy, What Does Astronomy Mean In Greek, and Why Is the Study of Astronomy Important To Us?
  • Where Did the Moon Come From, How Did Earth Get Its Only Satellite, and How Long Ago Was the Moon Created?
  • What Is the Difference Between the Near Side of the Moon and the Far Side of the Moon and Which Side Has Tides?
  • When Did the United States Launch Its First Satellite Into Space and Who Designed the Satellite Explorer 1?
  • Why Do the Phases of the Moon Take Longer Than One Moon Orbit and How Often Does the Moon Orbit the Earth?
  • What Do Superior and Inferior Conjunctions Mean In Positional Astronomy and What Is the Difference Between Them?

Filed Under: Space

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

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