• jmcs@discuss.tchncs.de
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    17
    arrow-down
    4
    ·
    1 year ago

    And technically the Moon is the only Moon. The “correct” term for what’s colloquially called “moon” is “natural satellite”.

    • Deme
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      9
      ·
      edit-2
      1 year ago

      A moonlet moonette is a natural satellite of a moon without being a moon itself. A planet is also a natural satellite of a star. The use of the word “moon” as a common term for natural satellites of planets is well established in professional terminology.

      • Zekas@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        4
        arrow-down
        2
        ·
        1 year ago

        What, no.

        A moon is a natural satellite. Our moon, Europa, Titan etc. A moonlet is a very small natural satellite. Earhart in Saturn’s orbit for example. A moon of a moon is a moonmoon or subsatellite.

        • Deme
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          4
          ·
          edit-2
          1 year ago

          Fair, I messed up the names there. Moonette is the synonym of that that I was thinking of.

          But a satellite (natural or artificial) is any object that orbits around a celestial body. The Earth is a satellite just as the Moon is one. Subsatellite is just the satellite of a satellite, but that depends on context. Moons fit that definition, but aren’t usually considered subsatellites because we don’t usually think of planets as the satellites of the Sun that they are.