Astronomers have made an exciting discovery: 128 new moons orbiting Saturn! This brings Saturn’s total to an impressive 274 moons, making it the clear “moon king” of our solar system. Jupiter, once the reigning champion, now has only 95 confirmed moons.
Dr. Edward Ashton, the lead researcher from the Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics in Taiwan, shared that their team had previously found 62 moons using a powerful telescope. In 2023, they suspected there were more and launched a new round of observations. “Sure enough, we found 128 new moons,” he said confidently. He believes that Jupiter won’t catch up anytime soon.
The International Astronomical Union has now recognized these moons. Right now, they are labeled with strings of numbers and letters. Eventually, they will receive names inspired by Gallic, Norse, and Canadian Inuit mythology. Most of the new moons belong to the Norse category, prompting astronomers to search for many lesser-known Viking deities to name them after.
These moons were detected using a clever technique called “shift and stack.” This method allows astronomers to create bright images of the moons by combining many pictures taken over time. All 128 of these new moons are irregular in shape, resembling small potatoes and ranging just a few kilometers across. This growing list has sparked discussions about what exactly qualifies as a moon.
Dr. Ashton noted, “I don’t think there’s a proper definition for what is classed as a moon. There should be.” He also mentioned that, with current technology, they might have reached the limit for detecting more moons around Saturn and other planets like Uranus and Neptune.
Exploring these tiny moons could offer a glimpse into the solar system’s early days. Scientists believe that during that time, planets were moving chaotically, and collisions were frequent. Many of these new moons seem to be fragments from larger bodies that broke apart due to collisions in the past 100 million years. They orbit Saturn in large, oval paths that differ from those of the larger, closer moons.
Prof. Brett Gladman from the University of British Columbia explained that these small moons likely came from a smaller number of original moons that got violently shattered. Understanding their dynamics could shine light on the origins of Saturn’s stunning rings, potentially linked to a moon that broke apart under the planet’s gravity.
Meanwhile, the European Space Agency’s Hera spacecraft is set to conduct a flyby of Mars. It will come very close to Deimos, one of Mars’ moons, which is thought to be a result of a massive impact or an astroid captured in Mars’ orbit. Hera will also observe Phobos, Mars’ larger moon, before continuing on its mission to study the asteroid Dimorphos. This mission is particularly significant as it aims to develop technology to divert potentially hazardous asteroids that could threaten Earth in the future.
Check out this related article: Unlocking the Secrets of the Blood Moon Lunar Eclipse: A Complete Guide You Can’t Miss!
Source link