In 2023, astronomers discovered 62 new moons of Saturn, bringing its total to 145 moons and surpassing Jupiter. More recently, astronomers from Taiwan, Canada, the USA, and France have identified additional moons, increasing Saturn’s total to 274.
This solidifies Saturn as the planet with the most moons, a title officially recognized by the International Astronomical Union. The race between Jupiter and Saturn for moon supremacy may now be settled!
Using the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT), astronomers meticulously observed Saturn’s surroundings between 2019 and 2021. By combining multiple images, they enhanced the signals of faint objects. This process revealed 62 new moons and many other potential objects that couldn’t yet be classified. These findings highlight the advanced techniques astronomers use to uncover celestial bodies.
Lead researcher Dr. Edward Ashton, a postdoctoral fellow in the Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics at Academia Sinica, said, “With the knowledge that these were probably moons and that there were likely even more waiting to be discovered, we revisited the same sky fields for three consecutive months in 2023. Sure enough, we found 128 new moons. Based on our projections, I don’t think Jupiter will ever catch up.”
Exploring the origins of Saturn’s rings and icy Moons
All 128 newly discovered moons are “irregular moons,” meaning Saturn captured them early in the solar system’s history. These moons, just a few kilometers wide, are likely fragments of larger captured moons shattered by violent collisions, possibly with other moons or comets.
The high ratio of small moons to large ones points to a collision within the Saturn system in the last 100 million years. Over time, such collisions would have destroyed more small moons, altering this ratio.
Most of these new moons are located near Saturn’s Mundilfari subgroup, the likely site of the collision. This discovery sheds light on the evolution of Saturn’s irregular moons, as highlighted by the multi-year observational campaign.
Dr. Ashton said, “As for what’s next for the team, their moon-spotting days may be over. With current technology, I don’t think we can do much better than what has already been done for moons around Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.”
Source: Tech Explorist
