Saturn now leads all planets with 274 known moons after a recent discovery that nearly doubled the total number of new moons. The Minor Planet Center announced on March 11th that 128 new moons were detected using observations from the Canada-France-Hawaii 3.6-meter telescope on Mauna Kea, Hawai’i.
The team used a shift-and-stack technique to identify the small, irregular moons, which orbit between 1 and 20 kilometers away from Saturn. What’s notable is that most of these moons circle the planet in the opposite direction, or retrograde, and are scattered across the ring plane. These observations suggest that the new moons are likely captured asteroids or fragments from collisions.
The discovery provides evidence for at least one major collision between Saturnian moons within the last 100 million years. The team estimates that this event may have occurred as recently as a thousand years ago. Studying these moons could shed light on Saturn’s recent history, including potential catastrophic events in the system.
Saturn now holds the record for most moons among all planets, with Jupiter’s second-highest total of 95 being significantly lower. The findings highlight the complexity and dynamic nature of the Saturnian system, offering insights into its evolution over time.
Source: https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/its-official-saturn-has-128-new-moons