this post was submitted on 12 Mar 2025
91 points (98.9% liked)

Astronomy

4502 readers
243 users here now

founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
top 8 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] otter@lemmy.dbzer0.com 8 points 13 hours ago* (last edited 13 hours ago)

Slut.

Try not to grab another moon on your way through the parking lot!

[–] janus2@lemmy.zip 2 points 11 hours ago

"Did you bring enough to share with the whole class?"

the class:

[–] Bristingr@lemm.ee 4 points 15 hours ago

What, having the best rings wasn't good enough for Saturn? Gosh, how greedy. /s

[–] pwnicholson@lemmy.world 21 points 1 day ago

*"Newly identified moons" I'm pretty sure they've been there for a while.

Having 128 new moons would really be noteworthy!

[–] grillgamesh@lemmy.dbzer0.com 13 points 1 day ago

Perhaps when they become fully operational battle stations?

[–] Zzyzx@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 21 hours ago

Jupiter excitedly pointing out this news to Juno

[–] troyunrau@lemmy.ca 5 points 1 day ago (1 children)

This is a great question. It's like asking when a rock is too small to be a planet. I suspect there were be a definition eventually that mirrors the planetary definition -- something like "spherical(ish) and clears its orbit". The issue is that Mars would lose its two moons under that definition.

So we might end up with something like "moons" vs "natural satellites" and Mars will just have to suck it up.

[–] kinttach@lemm.ee 6 points 1 day ago

Moons vs. dwarf moons? (Sounds like a fantasy novel series.)