Okay, so my setting for a story was a moon, and I recently heard that moons can’t have seasons... is there any possible way that my moon can have seasons, specifically summer and winter?
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Of course.
Most of the changes associated with seasons are because of a heavenly body's tilt, which is why there is so little change at the equator. As a result, a moon will always have seasons as long as it is (a) tilted, and (b) not tidally locked to the sun it is orbiting. Statistically, it is highly improbable for a moon to not fulfill these conditions; so improbable, in fact, that you can generally assume that a moon will have seasons.
answered Aug 26, 2020 at 2:24
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1$\begingroup$ Okay, thanks. LoL, I was scared for a minute there... $\endgroup$ Commented Aug 26, 2020 at 2:25
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2$\begingroup$ All moons of significant size in the solar system are tidally-locked to the planets they orbit. The determining factor of whether the moon will experience seasons is whether the plane of the moon's orbit is in the plane of the planet's orbit. $\endgroup$– notovnyCommented Aug 26, 2020 at 2:33
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$\begingroup$ "Non-tidally locked tilt is statistically the most probable state": oh really? Do you have a citation which you can bring in support of this state being the most probable for a satellite? Can you give examples of such natural satellites? $\endgroup$– AlexPCommented Aug 26, 2020 at 5:35
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$\begingroup$ @notovny I meant in relation to the sun; it's already a given that it will be tidally locked to the planet. $\endgroup$ Commented Aug 26, 2020 at 11:18
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$\begingroup$ @AlexP I worked it out logically with a big Punnet Square; as such, no citation. Since it's impossible for me (as only an amateur astronomer, who thus doesn't have access to the statistical data of a pro) to know for sure, I have removed the assertion. $\endgroup$ Commented Aug 26, 2020 at 11:25