The general name also given to natural satellites is “moon.” In astronomy, a moon is a naturally occurring body that orbits a planet, dwarf planet, asteroid, or another sufficiently large Solar System object. Earth’s satellite is formally written as the Moon, with a capital M; “moon” in lowercase is the generic term.
The word became a category after Galileo observed four bodies orbiting Jupiter in 1610. Because they resembled Earth’s Moon, they were called moons. The more technical term “satellite” comes from the Latin satelles, meaning an attendant or companion, and was adopted to distinguish orbiting bodies from planets. After Sputnik launched in 1957, “satellite” increasingly suggested an artificial spacecraft, while “moon” remained useful for natural objects.
A common mix-up is treating “moon” and “natural satellite” as different kinds of objects. They are generally interchangeable in modern usage, although “natural satellite” is more precise when scientists want to contrast it with an artificial satellite. Examples include Phobos and Deimos at Mars, Titan at Saturn, and the four Galilean moons of Jupiter.