Moons of the Solar System

Discover the fascinating natural satellites orbiting our planets.

Callisto

Orbits: Jupiter

Callisto is the most heavily cratered object in the solar system. Its ancient surface tells the story of the solar system's violent history.

Diameter:
4,820 km
Period:
16.69 days

Europa

Orbits: Jupiter

Europa is an icy world that hides a global ocean beneath its frozen crust. It is considered one of the most promising places in the solar system to search for life.

Diameter:
3,122 km
Period:
3.55 days

Ganymede

Orbits: Jupiter

Ganymede is the largest moon in the solar system, even bigger than the planet Mercury. It is the only moon known to have its own magnetic field.

Diameter:
5,268 km
Period:
7.15 days

Io

Orbits: Jupiter

Io is the most volcanically active body in our solar system. Caught in a gravitational tug-of-war, its surface is constantly being reshaped by massive lava flows.

Diameter:
3,642 km
Period:
1.77 days

Phobos

Orbits: Mars

Phobos is the larger and closer of Mars' two moons. It is a small, irregularly shaped body that is slowly spiraling toward Mars and will eventually be destroyed.

Diameter:
22.2 km × 21.6 km × 20.6 km
Period:
0.32 days

Triton

Orbits: Neptune

Triton is Neptune's largest moon and the only large moon in the solar system with a retrograde orbit. It has cryovolcanoes and may have a subsurface ocean.

Diameter:
2,707 km
Period:
-5.88 days

Charon

Orbits: Pluto

Charon is Pluto's largest moon and forms a binary system with Pluto. It has a dark red polar region and may have had cryovolcanic activity in the past.

Diameter:
1,212 km
Period:
6.39 days

Enceladus

Orbits: Saturn

Enceladus is a small, icy moon that erupts geysers of water vapor and ice particles from its south pole. It may harbor a subsurface ocean beneath its frozen surface.

Diameter:
504 km
Period:
1.37 days

Mimas

Orbits: Saturn

Mimas is a small moon of Saturn famous for its large Herschel Crater, which makes it resemble the Death Star from Star Wars.

Diameter:
396 km
Period:
0.94 days

Titan

Orbits: Saturn

Titan is Saturn's largest moon and the only moon in the solar system with a substantial atmosphere. It is larger than Mercury and has liquid lakes on its surface.

Diameter:
5,150 km
Period:
15.95 days