🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <karlw.2w5t@terapin.com> karlw@terapin.com (Karl Williams) writes:
>Question still comes up in my mind , is it possible for a moon to have moon?
>well I think that if a slow passing asteroid was pulled into a orbit around a
>moon it could be called a moon right?

The trivial answer to your question is "Yes".  The question is, how long
will this orbit remain ralatively stable?
 
Luna could posess satellites; however, because of mascons and the perturbing
influence of the Earth, the sun, Jupiter, etc, the orbit would deteriorate
and eventually impact the moon, or wander off away from the moon and into
Earth orbit.
 
The biggest problem with an object orbiting a secondary (like Luna) is the
perturbing influence of the primary (Earth).  I suspect that the greater
the distance and the *larger* the mass ratio between the primary and secondary,
the easier it would be to have a body in a stable orbit about the secondary.
But being a mere systems guru, and not an orbital mechanist, I'm not
positive.
-- 
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