This list covers 19 moons with names starting with the letter P, ranging from “Paaliaq” to “Puck.” These moons orbit planets across the solar system, from Mars to Neptune. They vary widely in size, origin, and behavior. Some are tiny captured asteroids following distant retrograde orbits. Others are shepherd moons that actively shape the rings of Saturn and other giant planets.

Moons are natural objects that orbit planets, held in place by their planet’s gravity. Our solar system has hundreds of confirmed moons, from tiny irregular rocks to large spherical worlds. Phoebe, one of the moons in this list, is thought to be a captured Kuiper Belt object that formed far out in the solar system before Saturn’s gravity pulled it in.

Below you’ll find the table with Moon, Parent Planet, Diameter (km), Discovery Year, and Description.

Moon: The official name of each moon, drawn from mythology, literature, and indigenous cultures from around the world.

Parent Planet: The planet each moon orbits. This tells you whether a moon belongs to Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Uranus, or Neptune.

Diameter (km): The approximate size of the moon in kilometers. Sizes in this list range from just 2 km to over 400 km, showing how varied these objects are.

Discovery Year: The year astronomers first confirmed the moon. Earlier discoveries relied on traditional telescopes, while more recent ones required spacecraft or advanced ground-based imaging.

Description: A short summary of what makes each moon notable, covering orbital behavior, physical traits, and the story behind its name.

Moons

MoonParent PlanetDiameter (km)Discovery Year
PaaliaqSaturn222000
PalleneSaturn42004
PanSaturn281990
PandoraSaturn811980
PandiaJupiter32017
PasiphaeJupiter601908
PasitheeJupiter22001
PerditaUranus301999
PhilophrosyneJupiter42001
PhobosMars221877
PhoebeSaturn2131899
PolydeucesSaturn32004
PortiaUranus1351986
PraxidikeJupiter72000
PrometheusSaturn861980
ProsperoUranus501999
ProteusNeptune4201989
PsamatheNeptune402003
PuckUranus1621985

Descriptions

Paaliaq
An irregular outer moon of Saturn belonging to the Inuit group, with a distant, inclined orbit. It is named after a giant from Inuit mythology.
Pallene
A tiny inner moon of Saturn orbiting between Mimas and Enceladus, discovered during the Cassini mission. It shares its orbital region with the small moon Methone.
Pan
A small, walnut-shaped moon that orbits within Saturn’s A ring, carving out the Encke Gap. Its distinctive shape comes from ring material accumulated around its equator.
Pandora
One of Saturn’s shepherd moons that helps define the outer edge of the narrow F ring, discovered during the Voyager 1 flyby. It has an irregular, elongated shape.
Pandia
A very small irregular moon of Jupiter with a distant prograde orbit, announced in 2018 from 2017 discovery images. It is named after a daughter of Zeus and the moon goddess Selene.
Pasiphae
A large irregular moon of Jupiter with a distant, retrograde orbit, and the leader of the Pasiphae group of similar moons. It was the first of Jupiter’s outer irregular moons identified in the twentieth century.
Pasithee
A tiny irregular moon of Jupiter belonging to the Carme group, following a distant retrograde orbit around the planet. It is among the smallest confirmed moons in the solar system.
Perdita
A small inner moon of Uranus identified in archived Voyager 2 images years after the 1986 flyby. Named after a character in Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale, it was temporarily lost before being confirmed.
Philophrosyne
A small irregular moon of Jupiter in the Ananke group, orbiting the planet in a retrograde direction at great distance. Its name comes from a Greek personification of friendliness and welcome.
Phobos
The larger and closer of Mars’s two moons, Phobos orbits so near the planet that it circles Mars three times a day. It is slowly spiraling inward and will eventually break apart or crash into the surface.
Phoebe
Saturn’s outermost large moon, orbiting in a distant retrograde path and likely a captured Kuiper Belt object. It has a dark, heavily cratered surface rich in carbon compounds.
Polydeuces
A tiny co-orbital moon of Saturn that shares Dione’s orbit as a trojan companion at the trailing Lagrangian point. Discovered by Cassini, it drifts widely around its equilibrium position.
Portia
One of Uranus’s larger inner moons, discovered during the Voyager 2 flyby. It leads a cluster of closely packed small satellites and has a dark, roughly spherical surface.
Praxidike
A small irregular moon of Jupiter in the Ananke group, following a distant retrograde orbit. It was one of several Jovian moons discovered using ground-based telescopes around the turn of the millennium.
Prometheus
A shepherd moon of Saturn that confines the inner edge of the F ring, creating complex wave-like distortions in the ring material. It was discovered alongside Pandora during the Voyager 1 flyby.
Prospero
A small irregular moon of Uranus with a distant, retrograde orbit discovered by ground-based telescopes. Named after the exiled sorcerer-duke in Shakespeare’s The Tempest.
Proteus
Neptune’s second-largest moon, discovered by Voyager 2. It has a dark, heavily cratered surface and an irregular blocky shape just at the threshold where gravity begins pulling a body into a sphere.
Psamathe
A tiny, distant irregular moon of Neptune discovered in 2003 using ground-based telescopes. Named after a sea nymph in Greek mythology said to be the mother of the seal god Phocus.
Puck
A medium-sized inner moon of Uranus discovered just before Voyager 2’s 1986 flyby, with a dark, roughly spherical surface. Named after the mischievous fairy in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
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