Favorite Moons

[Prometheus]

The title explains it all. Any of you got favorite moons? By the way, my two favorites (which I can never decide as my top favorite, it frequently changes) are actually Oberon and Umbriel…but there was one time last year where I was obsessed with Charon for a day. Then Triton for 2 days, and back to the other two I mentioned.

[rstevenson]

I’d have to visit them all in person to really make up my mind. I wonder if Elon wants another project?

Rob

[Chris Peterson]

The title explains it all. Any of you got favorite moons? By the way, my two favorites (which I can never decide as my top favorite, it frequently changes) are actually Oberon and Umbriel…but there was one time last year where I was obsessed with Charon for a day. Then Triton for 2 days, and back to the other two I mentioned.

Luna.

[neufer]

Click to play embedded YouTube video.

View of Pan by Cassini in 2017

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<<Pan is the innermost named moon of Saturn. It is a small, walnut-shaped moon approximately 35 kilometres across and 23 km wide that orbits within the Encke Gap in Saturn's A Ring. Pan is a ring shepherd and is responsible for keeping the Encke Gap free of ring particles. It is sometimes described as having the appearance of a ravioli. It was discovered by Mark R. Showalter in 1990 from analysis of old Voyager 2 probe photos and received the provisional designation S/1981 S 13 because the discovery images dated back to 1981.

The moon was named on 16 September 1991, after the mythological Pan, who was (among other things) the god of shepherds. This is a reference to Pan's role as a shepherd moon. The eccentricity of Pan's orbit causes its distance from Saturn to vary by ~4 km. Its inclination, which would cause it to move up and down, is not distinguishable from zero with present data. The Encke Gap, within which Pan orbits, is about 325 km wide.

The existence of a moon in the Encke Gap was first predicted by Jeffrey N. Cuzzi and Jeffrey D. Scargle in 1985, based on wavy edges of the gap which indicated a gravitational disturbance. In 1986 Showalter et al. inferred its orbit and mass by modeling its gravitational wake. They arrived at a very precise prediction of 133,603 ± 10 km for the semi-major axis and a mass of 5–10×10⁻¹² Saturn masses, and inferred that there was only a single moon within the Encke gap. The actual semi-major axis differs by 19 km and the actual mass is 8.6×10⁻¹² of Saturn's.

The moon was later found within 1° of the predicted position. The search was undertaken by considering all Voyager 2 images and using a computer calculation to predict whether the moon would be visible under sufficiently favorable conditions in each one. Every qualifying Voyager 2 image with resolution better than ~50 km/pixel shows Pan clearly. In all, it appears in eleven Voyager 2 images.>>

[Ann]

I would have said Miranda, because it has a big fat "L" imprinted on it, so that its name should be Linda or something, and Iapetus, because it is the perfect two-face moon which is also impersonating a walnut.

Of course, who can resist Enceladus?

But I have to agree with Art that Pan looks amazing!

Ann

[Prometheus]

Should I make another thread eventually for what you all think is the worst moon in the solar system? After this one gets quite a few posts? (I like asking for everyone’s opinions on various moons)

[Ann]

Should I make another thread eventually for what you all think is the worst moon in the solar system? After this one gets quite a few posts? (I like asking for everyone’s opinions on various moons)

Hey hey, wait! I have to mention another moon! Hyperion, the sponge moon! Darn it, I haven't got any soap now that I will take a bath - no matter, I'll use Hyperion instead to get a good scrub down!

Hyperion. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

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And how about a thread about the worst moon? Sure, why not? I don't know what I'd vore for, and I know Ceres isn't a moon, but seriously - ceresly - isn't Ceres as boring as they come? Even though it's got a pair of "eyes"?

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Ann

[Prometheus]

For some reason, Oberon has practically always been my favorite moon, I don’t even know why. I seem to like the moons no one even talks about…I wish it was talked about more…

[orin stepanek]

Luna; My very favorite!

[Ann]

For some reason, Oberon has practically always been my favorite moon, I don’t even know why. I seem to like the moons no one even talks about…I wish it was talked about more…

You are right: Nobody talks about Oberon. I barely remembered that there is such a moon, but then I realized it belongs to the same "family" as Miranda. Miranda and Oberon, they go together.

The reason why I love Miranda is because it has such a crazy appearance, with that huge "L" stamped on it, plus there is a good photo of it. The reason why I have paid no attention to Oberon is that there is no good photo of it. Only a relatively low-resolution image exists.

That said, I've been even less interested in Puck, Ariel, Umbriel and Titania, the other moons of Uranus. Puck is just too puny for me to care. But Ariel looks kind of interesting, with those long, huge cracks which seem to speak of a liquid interior. It reminds me a little of Enceladus. Umbriel looks like nothing - that's a terrible picture of it - but Titania actually doesn't look too shabby. Much of it looks like Callisto, with a dark face pockmarked with bright craters, but off to one side are those long sinuous cracks again. Of course, Oberon doesn't look that bad either, with that almost heart-shaped dark "double crater"(?) surrounded by a lot of light-colored ejecta. And in the middle of that "heart" is a huge "boulder", almost like a pearl in its heart.

There is also another striking crater surrounded by even whiter ejecta to the upper left of the "heart" of Oberon.

Moons of Uranus. From left to right, Puck Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon.

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Ann

[eleven88]

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hill climb racing mod
Luna; My very favorite!

Hey... wow nice picture.

[Orca]

Titan! Imagine sailing the hydrocarbon lakes. Or better yet, human-powered flight. The density of the atmosphere - 1.5 ATMs - and the low gravity would allow you, with flippers and maybe some kind of wing suit, to just fly around (XKCD talks about it here). If you can avoid freezing to death, of course.

Runners-up would include Europa (global oceans!), Mimas ("...that's no moon. Oh wait, um, yes it is a moon."), and any tiny satellite of an asteroid; the fact that these systems exist is just too cool.

[EuropaVisitor]

I think my favorite moon can be supplied by glancing at my username. Not just because of the oceans (though they are pretty cool) but also because the orange cracks on the background of ice look very cool. Though I do have to admit I am biased because of the very clear pictures of it and the fact that NASA is planning to send a mission there soon (NASA terms soon, of course).

[Galatic Spacewarp]

I don't know about you guys, but I think I like our OWN moon over the others.