Earth’s Moon vs. Other Moons: A Celestial Comparison 🌕

October 16, 2025

🌑 Earth’s Moon

Diameter: 3,474 km

Orbit: ~384,400 km from Earth

Key Features: Lunar seas (maria), craters, distinct phases

Influence: Stabilizes Earth's axial tilt, affects tides, and has cultural and historical significance

🔥 Jupiter’s Moons

Io – Diameter: 3,643 km
Most volcanically active body in the solar system due to tidal heating from Jupiter and nearby moons.

Europa – Diameter: 3,121.6 km
Smooth icy surface with a potential subsurface ocean. Reflects sunlight 5× more than Earth’s Moon.

Ganymede – Diameter: 5,268 km
Largest moon in the solar system. Unique: has its own magnetic field.

Callisto – Diameter: 4,820.6 km
Ancient, heavily cratered surface; geologically inactive.

🪐 Saturn’s Moons

Titan – Diameter: 5,150 km
Dense nitrogen-rich atmosphere, lakes of methane and ethane. Atmosphere thicker than Earth’s.

Enceladus – Diameter: 504.2 km
Geysers of water vapor and ice, indicating a subsurface ocean beneath its icy crust.

🔴 Mars’ Moons

Phobos – 27 × 22 × 18 km
Heavily cratered, irregular, orbits Mars three times a day; slowly spiraling inward.

Deimos – 14 × 12 × 11 km
Smaller, less irregular than Phobos; low gravity makes it difficult to observe from Mars.

🌌 Other Notable Moons

Triton (Neptune): Retrograde orbit, likely captured by Neptune’s gravity.

Miranda (Uranus): Extreme cliffs and valleys, suggesting internal disruption and reassembly.

🌠 Conclusion

Earth’s Moon is uniquely influential, but the moons of other planets are incredibly diverse. From volcanic landscapes to hidden oceans, each one tells a story about the history and dynamics of our solar system.

Here’s a YouTube video with more insight into the strange and fascinating moons of our solar system — The Universe: The Strange Moons of Distant Planets (Season 2, Episode 5) from the HISTORY Channel.