ASTRONOMERS SPOT 128 PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN MOONS OF SATURN

Sun 16 March 2025:

Scientists have discovered 128 new moons orbiting Saturn, previously unknown. With this discovery, which has been officially recognized by the International Astronomical Union, the number of known moons of Saturn has risen to 274, surpassing Jupiter, which has 95 moons. Observations between 2019 and 2021 had already pointed to 62 new moons around Saturn, though some small celestial objects had not yet been definitively classified.

Astronomer Edward Ashton, working at Academia Sinica in Taiwan, said, “We knew these objects were probably moons, and we thought more could be discovered. That’s why we revisited the same regions of the sky for three months in 2023.”

As a result of this research, 128 new moons were detected. Scientists believe that it will be difficult for Jupiter to catch up to this number.

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ORIGINS OF THE IRREGULAR MOONS

The newly discovered moons are not large and round like Earth’s moon. These small, irregularly shaped celestial objects are classified as “irregular moons.”

Scientists believe these objects were captured by Saturn during the early years of the Solar System.

According to researchers, a collision that took place around 100 million years ago likely led to the formation of these small moons.

Most of the newly discovered moons were found in the region of Saturn where its “Norse group” moons—moons with retrograde orbits—are located. This suggests a major collision occurred in the region in the recent past.

EXCITEMENT IN THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY

Scientists emphasize that this discovery is of great significance for better understanding the history of Saturn and the Solar System. Future observations could provide more information about the formation process of these moons and the evolution of their orbits.

Agencies and A News

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