Shepherd moon

Okay kiddo, have you ever seen a big planet like Jupiter or Saturn? They spin in space and are surrounded by moons, which are like small rocks that orbit around the planet. But did you know that sometimes, a moon can have its own little moons, kind of like tiny moons orbiting a bigger moon?

We call these small moons "shepherd moons" because they help to keep the bigger moon's ring system organized. You see, when a moon has a ring system, it means that there are lots of little pieces of rock and ice swirling around it in a circle. Sometimes, these rocks and ice bits bump into each other and start to clump together.

That's where the shepherd moon comes in. It orbits close to the bigger moon and "shepherds" the rocks and ice bits, making sure they don't get too close to each other and crash. It's kind of like how a sheepdog herds sheep and keeps them from running off or getting hurt.

Scientists have found shepherd moons around some of the planets in our solar system, like Saturn and Jupiter. They're pretty cool, huh?