How Many Moons are there in Our Solar System? (57)

Introduction

Here is an excerpt about the number of moons in our solar system. We certainly know that we have a moon or two and it is also known that some of the other planets in our solar system also have moons. This excerpt provides more exact and detailed information about this subject.

This excerpt has been taken from the book: “Moons of the Solar System (From Giant Ganymede to Dainty Dactyl)” by James A.Hall, published by Springer.

Excerpt

“The question of how many moons are in our Solar System has undergone a lot of flux. As an example, Venus has no conventional moons, but has a co-orbital body and two smaller bodies (asteroids) related to its orbit. And while no book could really detail these three objects, due to the small amount known about them, no book even mentions them in passing. Just like no book mentions that 4 of the 5000+ Jupiter Trojans are known to have moonlets, or that there must be 1000 or more that have moonlets that we are unaware of.

According to one source published in 1958 (a book which also clearly shows that Pluto is considerably larger than Mercury, almost the size of Mars), there were 31 moons in the Solar System (and since Pluto was bigger than Mercury, I think we can understand why it showed no moons around Pluto). A later source in 1963, which was revised in 1977, showed there were 34 moons. According to a 1993 book there were 61 for the giant planets, plus 3 for the Earth and Mars and 1 for Pluto (still a planet in 1993). Moving ahead to 2006, it was 163 (with pluses after Jupiter and Saturn), including little Dactyl (which orbits an asteroid), and minus 1 since Pluto was not a planet any more, but an ice dwarf planet/trans-Neptunian object, and Charon’s definition was fuzzy too. In 2011, it was 7 major, 8 medium, and 166 as a mix of minor and very minor (a four-part distinction which will be used extensively throughout the organization of the book.)

Now it is 2015, so it is time for a new count. When the book was completed, 164 moons could be found around planets, 8 around dwarf planets in the asteroid belt, 96 around smaller asteroids, 3 as Venus co-orbitals, with an additional 4 Jupiter Trojans, 51 Near-earth objects, 20 Mars-crossing objects, and 87 TNO satellites. There are also 150 or more “possible” satellites in Saturn’s rings (few of which are included in this volume due to minimal information about said objects). But be forewarned, this information changes practically on a day-to-day basis. However, through using Information Clearing House wikis, an exhaustive list of reputable sites can be found. One such list is an exhaustive list of asteroids with moon, and while it would not be practical to call the any such Earth-made list complete, it is exhaustive of what is currently known, even as that knowledge is continually being revised.”

Summary

So then the number is that there are 164 moons in total orbiting around planets. There are also many other moon-like objects, just as the second paragraph of the excerpt details orbiting around, dwarf planets (8), smaller asteroids etc.

End (57).