Part Time Scholar

Our Moon was thought to be the only one in the solar system until Galileo discovered four celestial objects orbiting Jupiter through his telescope back in 1610. Today, we know there are many more moons in the Solar System.  Here are some that are special: Saturn's Rings Saturn's thirty plus rings are technically made of billions of moons.  They can be as small as a pebble and as big as a city.  The rings of Saturn were believed to have formed when comets pushed Saturn's early moons too close for comfort.  Those moons were ripped and shredded into pieces by Saturn's gravity, eventually forming rings of rocks and ice debris around the planet. Enceladus (Saturn) Enceladus is Saturn's sixth largest moon and is only 300 miles across.  It is one of the brightest objects in the Solar System, reflecting almost all light from the sun thanks to its ice covered surface. Saturn's gravity acts on  Enceladus' core to create active volcanic eruptions. Surprisingly th...

Moons are interesting celestial bodies.  Until recent years, they are often overlooked in favour of other astronomical objects like stars and planets.  So what really is a moon?  By definition,  a moon is a natural satellite that orbits a planet.   It is important to note that gravity plays a role in shaping a planet's moons. Too much gravity and the moon is destroyed. Too little of it and the moon floats away until is no longer a moon. In this and the next articles, we will focus on the  moons in our Solar System. Let's start with the one we know best! Earth's Moon and the Giant Impact Hypothesis Several theories have been postulated on the formation of our moon. T he  Apollo mission was sent to the moon in 1969 during which rock samples were secured. These moon rocks were found to be almost identical to those of Earth's crust.  The catch however, is that the rocks were super heated. How could this be?   The story goes that Ear...