• What are natural satellites?
• Characteristics of natural satellites
• Types of natural satellites
• Natural satellites in the Solar System
• Moon
• Artificial satellites

We explain what natural satellites are, their types and characteristics. The Moon and other natural satellites of the Solar System.

The natural satellites of the planets are called moons.

What are natural satellites?

A natural satellite is a celestial body that orbits around another larger body and that accompanies it in the movement from translation. The natural satellites that orbit the planets are called "moons" (some planets have several moons in their orbit). The only ones that do not have natural satellites are Mercury and Venus.

Many scientists argue that planets and other large bodies may have acquired their natural satellites by capturing them by the gravitational attraction. That is, some moons used to move through space, independently and, when they passed near a body of greater density and size, began to be part of its orbit.

In other cases, as in that of Moon terrestrial, was originated from a great impact between a asteroid and the planet Earth. Rocks and dust from the crash's explosion spread through space and then clumped together and formed the Moon, located close enough to Earth to be caught in its orbit.

Characteristics of natural satellites

Natural satellites also exert the force of gravity on the planet they orbit.

Natural satellites can vary in composition, size, shape, etc. However, they have certain characteristics in common:

• They move in the orbit of a larger celestial body, due to the force of gravity coming from it.
• They are usually solid bodies and generally do not have a noticeable atmosphere.
• Their orbits can be regular or irregular.
• Their force of gravity affects the planet they orbit (in the case of Earth, the Moon's gravity causes the tides to rise).

Both planets and natural satellites have their own force of gravity. Although that of the planets is greater (which makes them keep the satellite in its orbit), the satellite also exerts some influence on the planet.

Types of natural satellites

Natural satellites are classified as:

• Shepherd satellites. Those that are located in the rings of a planet, especially the "giant" or "outer" planets of the Solar System.
• Coorbital satellites. Those that make up two or more satellites in the same orbit of a planet.
• Asteroidal satellites. Those, generally small, that revolve around asteroids.

Natural satellites are also classified by their type of orbit, which can be:

• Regular. Those satellites that maintain a constant orbit around another celestial body, that is, in the same direction as the planet.
• Irregular. Those that maintain orbits very far from the planet they orbit and that are usually elliptical and inclined.

Natural satellites in the Solar System

In addition to its rings, Saturn has 61 confirmed moons.

In the Solar System there are about 160 confirmed natural satellites and another hundred still under study.

The first to detect that other planets also had moons was Galileo Galilei, who in 1610 was able to recognize the four largest moons in Jupiter, planet that has the largest number of natural satellites (at least 69, detected so far). Second, you will find Saturn with 61 confirmed moons.

Planets, asteroids and kites that orbit around different starsLike the Sun, they can also be considered natural satellites.

The Solar System has eight confirmed planets and millions of minor planets, asteroids, comets, and other celestial bodies that orbit the luminous star. All of them can be considered, in some way, natural satellites.

Moon

The Moon is the only natural satellite of the Earth, it has a diameter of 3,476 kilometers (a quarter of that of the Earth) and is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System. It moves at a speed of 3,700 km per hour and takes 27.3 days to orbit the planet, a period called "orbital" or "sidereal" which means "of the stars" or "related to the stars".

However the weather that elapses between one full moon and the next is 29.5 days. That extra time is due to the change in angle as the Earth rotates around the Sun.

The Moon has its own force of gravity. Although it is much less than the gravitational attraction of the Earth, it exerts an influence on the planet since it causes the rise of the tides, that is, the terrestrial liquid masses are attracted by the force of gravity of the Moon.

The rise of the tide does not always occur at the same time each day, but varies with the Moon phases that appear at different times. Depending on the instance of the moon phase, the intensity of the tide varies, for example:

• Neap tides. They occur during the waxing and waning moon phases, and are characterized by small or slight changes in the seas.
• Spring tides. They occur during the phases of the full and new moon, when the satellite aligns itself with the Sun and the Earth, which causes the high tides to be even higher, because the gravitational attractions of the bright star and the planet are added.

Artificial satellites

Artificial satellites can study the surface of the planet.

The artificial satellites They are highly complex machines created by humans and launched into space via rockets, to orbit around a certain celestial body, for example, the Earth. Your goal is to collect data, tests and other information to prepare maps and to study the different parts of the body's surface.

In the late 1950s, the former Soviet Union launched the world's first artificial satellite, which was the size of a basketball and transmitted a simple Morse code signal.

Today, artificial satellites are capable of simultaneously receiving and transmitting thousands of signals, ranging from digital data to programming systems. TV.