An international team of astronomers led by Edward Ashton has discovered 62 new irregular moons around Saturn, bringing its total moon count to 145 and surpassing Jupiter. This breakthrough stems from the application of an innovative technique called ‘shift and stack,’ which enhances faint signals from smaller moons. The researchers utilized data captured by the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope between 2019 and 2021, meticulously tracking the new moons over two years to confirm their orbits.
Previously, Saturn had been closely examined for moons, and the new findings reveal insights into the planet’s collisional history. The moons are grouped into three categories based on their orbital characteristics: Inuit, Gallic, and Norse, with the Norse group being the most populated. This discovery indicates that a large number of small moons on retrograde orbits may result from a recent disruption of a moderately sized irregular moon approximately 100 million years ago. This collision could explain the clustering of moons and their varied orbits. As a result of the discoveries, Saturn has not only reclaimed the title for the most known moons but also becomes the first planet with over 100 recognized moons.
