Saturn shatters records with discovery of 128 new moons

It appears that Saturn still holds many mysteries for us. Researchers have announced the discovery of 128 new moons around the planet. Therefore, Saturn, known for its impressive ring system, now claims the largest number of moons in the Solar System. As reported by the Science Alert portal, the newly discovered moons enrich the planet's orbit and contribute significantly to its number of natural satellites. In total, there are 274 of them, and this information has been confirmed by the International Astronomical Union. The discovery has been officially recognised by the International Astronomical Union.

The first indications of additional moons arose in 2019, when 62 new objects were identified. Astronomer Edward Ashton from Academia Sinica in Taiwan explains that further observations in 2023 confirmed the existence of an additional 128 moons.

The newly discovered moons are small, with diameters of only a few kilometres. They have irregular shapes and do not resemble Earth's Moon. Scientists believe these moons are fragments of larger bodies that were captured by Saturn's gravity during the early stages of the Solar System's formation, with subsequent collisions possibly breaking them into smaller pieces.

The newly discovered moons belong to the so-called Norse group, characterised by retrograde orbits and elliptical trajectories, located beyond Saturn's rings. Scientists speculate that a collision may have occurred in this group about 100 million years ago, which is a relatively short period on a planetary scale.

Details regarding the discovery of 64 of these moons have been described in a new article in the "Planetary Science Journal." Thus, our understanding of the planet expands, along with our knowledge of the mysterious processes of moon formation in our Solar System.