The multitude of moons that orbit the planets of our solar system represent the incredible diversity of celestial bodies that inhabit this small corner of the universe. The satellites that call this cosmic neighborhood home come in all iterations, from oblong, dented, and lumpy, to smooth as marble, multi-crater, and marked with shavings.
It is difficult to understand such variations in size, shape, and surface characteristics without unfolding them and comparing them to the scale of some of the best monuments and horizons on Earth.
To help with these observations, curious people at MetaBallStudios have created a new informative video that casts an eclectic array of famous and not-so-famous moons on Earth to see how they would appear if they suddenly collapsed on our planet.
Take a look at Saturn’s tiny Aegaeon, the massive rock of Mars called Deimos, the round globe of Saturn’s Charon, and Jupiter’s epic Europa sphere as they all huddle in our crust to provide a convenient way to evaluate them all. Oh, and Earth’s favorite sphere completes the group as well.
Viewed from this perspective, it is surprising to see how small some of the moons look when placed in a familiar setting. According to the latest NASA data, there are 214 identifiable moons floating in the solar system, representing 158 confirmed moons and 56 provisional moons, the ones we theorize could either be there or have detected, but have not yet confirmed.
And the wealth of the rotating companions is not what one might call equitable, no matter how you cut it off, with gas giant Jupiter taking the bulk with a total of 79, 26 of whom are awaiting official names, until the poor Mercury without a single moon to call his own.
Anyone for giving our beautiful pale moon a proper nickname?
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