Astronomers discover 128 new moons of Saturn

By Alimat Aliyeva

Astronomers have discovered 128 new moons orbiting the planet Saturn, boosting its position to the top of the Solar System’s moon leaderboard, Azernews reports.

Until recently, Jupiter held the record for the most moons, but with the new discovery, Saturn now has a total of 274 satellites—almost twice as many as all the other planets combined.

The team responsible for this discovery had previously identified 62 moons using the Canadian-French Telescope in Hawaii. When they detected signs that there were even more moons, they conducted additional observations in 2023 to confirm their findings.

As of February 5, 2024, 95 confirmed moons of Jupiter have been registered.

This week, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) officially recognized these new satellites and assigned them numbers and letters. Following traditional naming conventions, Saturn's moons are gradually being named after deities from Celtic, Scandinavian, and Inuit mythology.

Saturn’s newfound position as the leader in moon counts highlights the ongoing discoveries in space, especially as observational technologies continue to improve. The moons of Saturn, many of which are small and irregular, may provide valuable insights into the early solar system and the formation of planetary systems. Some of these moons, like Titan, are already the focus of extensive scientific study due to their intriguing atmospheres and potential for harboring life.