Astronomers have discovered 128 new moons around Saturn, surpassing the total number of moons of all other planets combined. The International Astronomical Union has confirmed these discoveries, bringing Saturn’s grand total to 274 moons, making it the planet with the most moons in our solar system.
The discovery was made using images from the Canada France Hawaii telescope and was part of a research team led by Edward Ashton at the Academia Sinica in Taiwan. The new moons are all small, measuring only a few kilometers across, and are irregular in shape.
This milestone solidifies Saturn’s position as the winner of the solar system’s moon competition. However, questions remain about how to spot these moons and why some were previously undetected. Astronomers have also raised concerns about what exactly constitutes a moon and whether they should be included in official counts.
The discovery was part of a broader trend where Saturn has been steadily gaining more moons than its rival Jupiter. In 2019, Saturn surpassed Jupiter with the discovery of 20 new moons, only to lose the lead briefly before regaining it in 2023.
With 274 moons now, Saturn is significantly ahead of other planets. Earth has one moon, Mars has two, while Neptune has just 16. To reach double the number of all other planets combined, only ten more moons are needed around Saturn.
However, there remains debate about what constitutes a moon and how they should be named. The International Astronomical Union uses a system based on mythology, with some moons receiving names from gods and giants. But as the number of new discoveries grows, it may be necessary to expand this system to accommodate additional mythologies.
Source: https://www.independent.co.uk/space/saturn-moons-jupiter-astronomical-discovery-b2715749.html