Strange Moons You’ve Never Heard Of

Published on March 20, 2025

by Harriet King

When we think of moons, our own silvery satellite often comes to mind. But the solar system is filled with moons — over 200 of them — and many are stranger, more extreme, and more fascinating than our familiar Moon.

From subsurface oceans and volcanic eruptions to bizarre shapes and icy geysers, these lesser-known moons showcase just how wild space can be. Let’s journey beyond Earth and meet some of the most unusual moons you’ve probably never heard of.

Odd Moons That Redefine What a Moon Can Be

Here are some of the strangest, most intriguing moons in our solar system — and why they deserve more attention:

1. Pan (Saturn)

Pan looks like a flying saucer — and it’s not an illusion. This tiny moon orbits Saturn inside its rings and has a ridge around its middle.

What makes Pan stand out:

Its unique “waffle” shape comes from ring particles it’s swept up over time.
Only about 22 km in diameter — tiny by moon standards.
Orbits within the Encke Gap of Saturn’s rings.
Discovered in 1990 using images from the Voyager and Cassini missions.

2. Miranda (Uranus)

Miranda is a moon with one of the most fractured surfaces in the solar system — looking like it was assembled from pieces of different worlds.

Here’s why it’s so weird:

Has giant cliffs, canyons, and jumbled terrains called coronae.
One cliff, Verona Rupes, is up to 20 km high — the tallest known in the solar system.
Formed from violent geological activity or possibly reassembly after a massive collision.
Discovered in 1948 and visited only once — by Voyager 2 in 1986.

3. Io (Jupiter)

Io may not be obscure, but few people know just how extreme it is. It’s the most volcanically active body in the solar system.

This fiery moon features:

Hundreds of active volcanoes, some erupting lava dozens of miles high.
A surface covered in sulfur — giving it red, yellow, and orange hues.
Tidal heating from Jupiter and neighboring moons keeps its interior molten.
Its volcanic plumes can be seen from space!

4. Enceladus (Saturn)

Enceladus is an icy world — with a surprise. Beneath its frozen surface lies a global ocean, and geysers shoot water into space from cracks at its south pole.

Here’s why this tiny moon is a big deal:

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft flew through the geysers and detected water vapor, salt, and organic molecules.
Scientists believe it could harbor microbial life in its subsurface ocean.
The ejected material helps form Saturn’s E ring.
Despite being only 500 km across, it’s one of the most promising places to search for life.

5. Triton (Neptune)

Triton is Neptune’s largest moon — and it orbits in the opposite direction of Neptune’s rotation, a clue that it was likely captured rather than formed in place.

Triton’s quirks include:

Retrograde orbit — unique among large moons.
Frozen nitrogen geysers that erupt from its surface.
Extremely cold — around –235°C (–391°F).
Could have an ocean beneath its crust, possibly making it another candidate for extraterrestrial life.

The Backstory of Moon Discoveries

The moons of the solar system were discovered gradually, starting with Jupiter’s Galilean moons in 1610. Many of the stranger moons — like Enceladus, Miranda, and Pan — were discovered or studied in detail thanks to the Voyager and Cassini missions.

New moons are still being discovered today with the help of advanced telescopes and ongoing planetary exploration. With more missions planned for the outer planets, the list of strange moons will only keep growing.

Why It’s So Intriguing

These moons challenge our assumptions about what it means to be a moon. They’re not passive rocks — they’re dynamic, complex worlds that tell us about the history and potential of our solar system.

Some may even support life, while others show geological processes that rival planets. The deeper we look, the stranger and more fascinating these small worlds become.

What Most People Don’t Know

Here are some surprising facts about moons you might not have learned in school:

Saturn has over 140 confirmed moons, including several tiny ones embedded in its rings.
Some moons have atmospheres — Titan, for instance, has clouds, lakes, and rain (of methane).
Moonquakes are real — they’ve been recorded on Earth’s Moon by seismometers left during Apollo missions.
Many moons formed from collisions or were captured asteroids, making them cosmic patchworks.

Bonus Fact

Jupiter’s moon Ganymede is the largest moon in the solar system — even bigger than the planet Mercury — and it has its own magnetic field.

Takeaway

Moons may not shine like stars, but they’re just as fascinating. From volcanic chaos to icy geysers and alien oceans, these strange moons expand our understanding of what’s possible in space.

The more we explore, the clearer it becomes: when it comes to celestial bodies, the weird ones are often the most wonderful.