This page covers 12 moons whose names begin with C, ranging from “Caliban” to “Cyllene.” These moons orbit several different planets in our solar system, including Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Pluto. They vary widely in size, from giant worlds thousands of kilometers wide to tiny rocks just a few kilometers across. Learning about them gives you a clearer picture of how varied natural satellites can be.
Moons are natural satellites that orbit a planet or other large body due to gravity. They range from massive, ancient worlds to tiny irregular rocks captured by a planet’s gravity long ago. Charon, Pluto’s largest moon on this list, is so large relative to Pluto that the two are often called a binary system.
Below you’ll find the table with Moon, Parent Planet, Diameter (km), Discovery Year, and Description.
Moon: The name of each moon starting with C, so you can quickly identify which satellite you’re looking at in the list.
Parent Planet: The planet that each moon orbits, helping you place it within the broader solar system at a glance.
Diameter (km): How wide each moon is in kilometers, giving you a sense of its size compared to the others.
Discovery Year: The year each moon was first confirmed by astronomers, showing how recent or historic each discovery is.
Description: A brief summary of each moon’s key traits, such as its orbit type, group membership, or any features that make it stand out.
Moons
Moon
Parent Planet
Diameter (km)
Discovery Year
Caliban
Uranus
98
1997
Callirrhoe
Jupiter
9
2000
Callisto
Jupiter
4,820
1610
Calypso
Saturn
21
1980
Carme
Jupiter
46
1938
Carpo
Jupiter
3
2000
Chaldene
Jupiter
4
2000
Charon
Pluto
1,212
1978
Cordelia
Uranus
40
1986
Cressida
Uranus
80
1986
Cupid
Uranus
18
2003
Cyllene
Jupiter
2
2000
Descriptions
Caliban
A large irregular moon of Uranus with a retrograde orbit, likely a captured asteroid. Named after the monstrous character from Shakespeare’s The Tempest.
Callirrhoe
A tiny irregular moon of Jupiter belonging to the Pasiphae group, traveling in a distant retrograde orbit far from the planet.
Callisto
One of Jupiter’s four Galilean moons and the third-largest moon in the solar system. Its ancient, heavily cratered surface has changed little since the early solar system formed.
Calypso
A small moon of Saturn that shares its orbit with Tethys, trailing 60 degrees behind it at a stable Lagrangian point. It has an unusually smooth, bright surface.
Carme
The largest member of the Carme group, a family of Jupiter’s irregular moons thought to be fragments of a single captured asteroid. It orbits in a distant retrograde path.
Carpo
One of Jupiter’s smallest known moons, notable for orbiting in a prograde direction while most outer irregular moons travel retrograde.
Chaldene
A small irregular moon of Jupiter and a member of the Carme group, believed to be a fragment of a larger body that was captured and broken apart long ago.
Charon
Pluto’s largest moon, so massive relative to its parent that the two are often considered a binary system. Discovered by astronomer James Christy at the U.S. Naval Observatory.
Cordelia
An inner moon of Uranus discovered by Voyager 2, named after a character in Shakespeare’s King Lear. It acts as a shepherd moon for Uranus’s outermost epsilon ring.
Cressida
One of Uranus’s inner moons, also found by Voyager 2 and named after a character in Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cressida. Its orbit is gradually decaying inward.
Cupid
A small inner moon of Uranus discovered using the Hubble Space Telescope, named after the Roman god of love. It orbits just inside the moon Belinda.
Cyllene
One of Jupiter’s smallest known moons, belonging to the Carme group of retrograde irregular satellites thought to share a common captured-body origin.
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