måner

Måner is the plural form of måne in Danish and Norwegian, meaning moons or natural satellites of planets. In astronomical contexts the term måner is used to refer to any moons orbiting planets, dwarf planets, or minor bodies. The indefinite plural måner is used without an article, as in "Jupiter har mange måner" (Jupiter has many moons). The definite plural månerne is used when the moons are known or specified, as in "Månerne rundt Saturn er mange" (The moons around Saturn are many). The singular forms are en måne (a moon) and månen (the Moon).

Etymology: The word måne comes from Old Norse máni and is cognate with the English moon; the plural måner developed through standard plural formation in Danish and Norwegian. In Swedish the cognate plural is månar.

See also: Månen, which denotes Earth's Moon, and related terms for moons of specific planets.

Note: While måner primarily refers to natural satellites in astronomy, the term is not used for artificial satellites, which are referred to as satellitter or kunstige satellitter in the Scandinavian languages.