Asteroid moon facts for kids

The asteroid 243 Ida and its moon Dactyl.

An asteroid moon is a smaller asteroid that travels around a larger asteroid. Think of it like our Moon orbiting Earth, but on a much smaller scale! These moons are quite special because they are not very common. Scientists believe that only about 2 out of every 100 asteroids have a moon.

For an object to be called an asteroid moon, it must be smaller than the asteroid it orbits. If two asteroids are almost the same size and orbit each other, they are called a binary pair. It's like having two partners dancing together in space!

The Solar System
Sun • Heliosphere	Planets ☾ = moon(s) ∅ = rings		Mercury	Venus	Earth ☾	Mars ☾
			Jupiter ☾ ∅	Saturn ☾ ∅	Uranus ☾ ∅	Neptune ☾ ∅
	Dwarf planets		Ceres	Pluto ☾	Haumea ☾	Makemake
			Eris ☾
	Small Solar System bodies	Asteroids (minor planets)	Groups and families: Vulcanoids · Near-Earth asteroids · Asteroid belt Jupiter Trojans · Centaurs · Neptune Trojans · Asteroid moons · Meteoroids · Pallas · Juno · Vesta · Hygiea · Interamnia · Europa
			See also the list of asteroids.
		Trans- Neptunians	Kuiper belt – Plutinos: Orcus · Ixion – Cubewanos: Varuna · Quaoar · Huya
			Scattered disc: Sedna
		Comets	Periodic comets and non-periodic comets Damocloids · Oort cloud
See also the list of solar system objects

Images for kids

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  The eight largest TNOs (Trans-Neptunian Objects) with moons. These include Pluto, Haumea, Makemake, Eris, Quaoar, Gonggong, Orcus and Salacia. The Earth is shown for size comparison. Gonggong is also known by its temporary name, 2007 OR₁₀.

See also

In Spanish: Satélite asteroidal para niños