With the next generation of scientists and cutting-edge missions, we hope to be able to answer the secrets of the origins of the moons in our solar system..
In fact, they can come from different parts of the country. Our Moon, for example, we believe formed in a cataclysmic impact between the early Earth and a Mars-sized planet. In a matter of moments, this impact would have melted the entire earth into a world of lava, sending thousands of tons of rocks and equipment into space. Some of these boulders would combine and form little glasses. Some of the rocks combined into little glasses.
On the other hand, the Galilean moons of Jupiter are thought to have formed from a giant disk of debris that Jupiter pulled in from the gas and dust that orbited the Sun in the early history of the solar system. The material in this record would also form these same glasses which eventually met to form the four largest moons of jupiter, io, europa, ganymede, and callisto.
Where do moons come from? From cataclysmic impacts to gravitational capture, NASA planetary scientist Joe Renaud walks us through some of the many theories of how the unique and captivating moons in our solar system came to be. From cataclysmic impacts to grasping, NASA's planetary scientist Joe Renaud explains some of the many theories about how the unique and exciting moons of our solar system have emerged.
For the last common way moons are thought to originate, we have to look at Neptune’s largest moon, Triton. This moon has a very strange orbit, which led us to hypothesize that it was actually a dwarf planet from the Kuiper Belt, just like Pluto. One day it got too close to Neptune and was captured by Neptune’s gravity.
One day he approached Neptune too close and was caught by the gravity of Neptune. Well, we still have a lot of questions that are unanswered, but with the next generation of scientists and state-of-the-art missions, we hope to be able to answer the secrets of the origins of the moons in our solar system.