Scientists have identified over 100 additional moons orbiting Saturn, potentially resulting from cosmic collisions that deposited debris in the planet’s orbit as recently as 100 million years ago.
The solar system’s gas giants possess numerous moons, which are objects that circle planets or non-stellar bodies. Jupiter hosts 95 confirmed moons, Uranus has 28, and Neptune maintains 16. Saturn’s newly discovered 128 moons increase its total to 274, as per NYT’s recent report.
These moons are predominantly small rocks spanning just a few miles—considerably smaller than Earth’s moon, which measures 2,159 miles across. Scientists classify them as moons if they maintain traceable orbits around their primary body. The International Astronomical Union, which validated Saturn’s 128 new moons on Tuesday, oversaw this classification.
“It’s the largest batch of new moons,” said Mike Alexandersen at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, who contributed to a paper announcing the finding, scheduled for publication in Research Notes of the American Astronomical Society.
Edward Ashton from Taiwan’s Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, the paper’s primary author, will determine the names for these objects.
“Whoever discovers them gets the right to name them,” explained Alexandersen, who collaborates with the International Astronomical Union to verify solar system objects. Saturn’s moons currently follow a naming convention based on Norse and other mythological figures.
“Maybe at some point they’ll have to expand the naming scheme further,” Alexandersen noted.
The discoveries occurred in 2023 using the Canada France Hawaii Telescope at Mauna Kea. Ashton’s team observed Saturn’s vicinity, enabling them to track previously unknown moons’ movements.
“You need to be able to prove that the object is in orbit around the planet,” said Ashton, who previously discovered 62 Saturn moons.
These irregular moons orbit at steep angles relative to Saturn’s equator, often travelling backwards compared to major moons. They orbit between 6.5 million and 18 million miles from Saturn, whereas its rings extend only 175,000 miles, and significant moons like Titan and Enceladus orbit within 2 million miles.
These numerous moons suggest multiple significant space collisions. The research team believes Saturn captured these irregular moons throughout its history. Some might be debris from solar system collisions, whilst others could be fragments from moon-to-moon impacts near Saturn.
Amid the discovery of these new moons, Ashton suggestted Saturn might harbour thousands more undiscovered moons.
However, he’s ready for a break from moon hunting. “I’m a bit mooned out at the moment,” he mused.
