Can the Moon also have Moons?

We all know very well that some planets have moons. But can these natural satellites also have moons? Our planet also has a moon. 

Except for Mercury and Venus, all the planets in our solar system have their own moons which revolve around them. 

Astronomers have also explored enough about the moons (exomoons) of exoplanets outside our solar system.

But now the question arises that can the moon also have its own moon? Just like they are the moons of a planet.

What is a moon called?

Basically the moon is a celestial body that exists in a stable orbit around its host planet or parent celestial body.  

Regarding the origin of the moons, it is believed that they formed from a single accretion disk of material around a star. 

Which gave birth to their host planet, but there are many exceptions to this theory.

Thought about this, Many of the moons have been captured by asteroids and may be fragments of other large moons that have been shattered by impacts.

Indeed, Earth's moon is believed to have formed when a portion of our planet was sent into orbit after a massive impact with a Mars-sized object.

Can a Moon also have a Moon?

Of all the scenarios in which a moon finds itself orbiting a large body-like planet, only impact and asteroid capture can give rise to new moons within the Solar System today.

But the Moon probably doesn't have a gravitational field large enough to control the motion of a small object and force it to orbit.

The planet will likely still have a controlling effect and form an unstable orbit. 

So, the answer is probably no: the moons of planets cannot have natural satellites.

However, many moons, for example Saturn's moons Tethys and Dione, have smaller companions at the Lagrangian points of their orbits.

These are places of relative gravitational stability, where, with respect to the planet-moon system, the companion is stable.

But since these companions do not orbit the Moon, they cannot be considered their natural satellites.

Comments