The Size Of These Countries Will Make You Rethink How You See The Moon

May 2024 · 2 minute read

As NASA reports, our solar system is full of moons. The two planets closest to the sun, Mercury and Venus, don't have any. Meanwhile, both Jupiter and Saturn have a huge amount: a total of 80 and 83 moons, respectively — some of which are yet to be confirmed and named. Moons, NASA states, are also known as "natural satellites," because that's exactly what they are: objects that become close companions of larger bodies and proceed to orbit them.

NASA adds that Jupiter's Ganymede is the solar system's mightiest moon, 1,635 miles (2,631 kilometers) in radius. Per Britannica, Mercury's radius is approximately 1,516 miles (2,440 kilometers), demonstrating just how large Ganymede is. NASA goes on to explain that Ganymede has the proud distinction of having been discovered by the legendary Galileo Galilei himself. In 2014, per the California Institute of Technology, JPL/NASA studies suggested that Ganymede "might have ice and oceans stacked up in several layers like a club sandwich."

Our own moon doesn't have a neat name or a mysterious icy sandwich of a makeup. It isn't mind-bogglingly vast, either. In fact, it could be considered disappointingly small. As the Natural History Museum reports, the moon has a radius of about 1,079 miles (1,737 kilometers). Compare this with Pluto's radius of 715 miles (1,151 kilometers), per NASA. With Pluto being so teeny as to have its official designation as planet stripped from it, the dwarf planet isn't the most impressive bar to leap over.

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