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→Other moons: starting a table on moons by planet, as suggested by user:Carltonio
[[Image:Many_Moons.jpg|250px|left]]
[[Image:Many_Moons.jpg|250px|left]]
While the Moon of Earth is the best-known satellite of any [[planet]], other planets in our solar system also have moons. Earth has the least number of moons (one), while [[Jupiter]] has sixty-two. The first extraterrestrial moons to be discovered were the four Galilean moons ([[Io]], [[Europa (moon)|Europa]], [[Ganymede]], and [[Callisto]]). Next to these, Earth's Moon is one of the largest, but Jupiter and [[Saturn]] have moons in orbit about them that might qualify as planets if they orbited the [[Sun]] instead.
While the Moon of Earth is the best-known satellite of any [[planet]], other planets in our solar system also have moons. Earth has the least number of moons (one), while [[Jupiter]] has sixty-two. The first extraterrestrial moons to be discovered were the four Galilean moons ([[Io]], [[Europa (moon)|Europa]], [[Ganymede]], and [[Callisto]]). Next to these, Earth's Moon is one of the largest, but Jupiter and [[Saturn]] have moons in orbit about them that might qualify as planets if they orbited the [[Sun]] instead.
{{clear}}
===Moons in our solar system===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Planet !! Number of moons !! Moon names
|-
| Earth || 1 || "Moon" or Luna
|-
| Mars || 2|| Deimos & Phobos
|-
| Jupiter || 79 ||
|-
| Saturn || 62 ||
|-
| Uranus || 27 ||
|-
| Neptune || 14 ||
|-
|Pluto (dwarf) || 5 || Charon, Nix & Hydra
|-
| Haumea (dwarf) || 2 ||Namaka & Hi'iaka
|-
|Eris || 1 || Dysnomia
|}
There are at least 182 natural moons known to exist in our solar system, counting those which are in orbit of dwarf planets.<ref>https://windows2universe.org/our_solar_system/moons_table.html (Retrieved April 9, 2019)</ref><ref>https://www.universetoday.com/15516/how-many-moons-are-in-the-solar-system/ (Retrieved April 9, 2019)</ref><ref>https://space-facts.com/moons/ (Retrieved April 9, 2019)</ref><ref>https://spacedictionary.org/moons/ (Retrieved April 9, 2019)</ref>
=== Sizes of moons ===
=== Sizes of moons ===
Most moons in the solar system are no larger than typical asteroids. They are of irregular shape, have light and variable surface gravities, and are often unstable in their orbits. [[Phobos]] and [[Deimos]], the moons of [[Mars]], fall into this category.
Most moons in the solar system are no larger than typical asteroids. They are of irregular shape, have light and variable surface gravities, and are often unstable in their orbits. [[Phobos]] and [[Deimos]], the moons of [[Mars]], fall into this category.
Earth's own moon is an example of a [[dwarf planet]]-sized moon. These moons are so large that their own self-gravity forces them to collapse into spheres or spheroids. Some of them, like [[Ganymede]] and [[Titan (moon)|Titan]], are larger even than the planet [[Mercury]]. Earth's moon was, of course, known to the ancients, but the remaining dwarf-planet-sized moons were generally the first to be discovered in orbit around any given primary. [[Galileo Galilei]] discovered the first four of these in orbit about [[Jupiter]] early in the seventeenth century; [[Christiaan Huygens]] then discovered Titan of [[Saturn]] later in that same century.
Earth's own moon is an example of a [[dwarf planet]]-sized moon. These moons are so large that their own self-gravity forces them to collapse into spheres or spheroids. Some of them, like [[Ganymede]] and [[Titan (moon)|Titan]], are larger even than the planet [[Mercury]]. Earth's moon was, of course, known to the ancients, but the remaining dwarf-planet-sized moons were generally the first to be discovered in orbit around any given primary. [[Galileo Galilei]] discovered the first four of these in orbit about [[Jupiter]] early in the seventeenth century; [[Christiaan Huygens]] then discovered Titan of [[Saturn]] later in that same century.
== Symbolic importance in Islam ==
== Symbolic importance in Islam ==