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The habitability of natural satellites is the potential of moons to provide habitats for life, though it is not an indicator that they harbor it. Natural satellites are expected to outnumber planets by a large margin and the study of their habitability is therefore important to astrobiology and the search for extraterrestrial life .
A natural satellite is, in the most common usage, an astronomical body that orbits a planet, dwarf planet, or small Solar System body (or sometimes another natural satellite). Natural satellites are colloquially referred to as moons , a derivation from the Moon of Earth .
The natural satellites of giant planets, meanwhile, remain valid candidates for hosting life. [39] In February 2011 the Kepler Space Observatory Mission team released a list of 1235 extrasolar planet candidates, including 54 that may be in the habitable zone. [43] [44] Six of the candidates in this zone are smaller than twice the size of Earth ...
Of the Solar System's eight planets and its nine most likely dwarf planets, six planets and seven dwarf planets are known to be orbited by at least 300 natural satellites, or moons. At least 19 of them are large enough to be gravitationally rounded; of these, all are covered by a crust of ice except for Earth's Moon and Jupiter's Io. [1]
A Stanford torus interior (cutaway view) Interior view of a large scale O'Neill cylinder, showing alternating land and window stripes. A space settlement (also called a space habitat, spacestead, space city or space colony) is a settlement in outer space, sustaining more extensively habitation facilities in space than a general space station or spacecraft.
Gravitational accelerations at L 4. The Hill sphere is the region in which an astronomical body dominates the attraction of satellites. Of the Solar System planets, Neptune and Uranus have the largest Hill spheres, due to the lessened gravitational influence of the Sun at their far orbits, however all of the giant planets have Hill spheres in the vicinity of 100 million kilometres in radius.
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A planetary surface is where the solid or liquid material of certain types of astronomical objects contacts the atmosphere or outer space. Planetary surfaces are found on solid objects of planetary mass, including terrestrial planets (including Earth), dwarf planets, natural satellites, planetesimals and many other small Solar System bodies ...