Natural satellite

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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, by analogy with the Moon, Earth's natural satellite. In English, the Moon with a capital M denotes Earth's satellite, while moon with a lowercase m is used generically for natural satellites. In the Solar System, there are six planetary satellite systems, altogether comprising 456 natural satellites with confirmed orbits. Seven objects commonly considered dwarf planets by astronomers are also known to have natural satellites: Orcus, Pluto, Haumea, Quaoar, Makemake, Gonggong, and Eris. Including the aforementioned seven, there are 652 minor planets known or suspected to have natural satellites.

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