By Sheetal Kumari | March 20, 2025
Saturn has reclaimed its title as the planet with the most moons! Astronomers have discovered 128 new moons, bringing its total to 274.
(Image: Canva)
A team led by Edward Ashton in Taiwan made the discovery, which has been officially recognised by the International Astronomical Union.
(Image: Canva)
With this new count, Saturn surpasses Jupiter, which has 95 moons. Uranus and Neptune remain third and fourth with 28 and 16 moons, respectively.
(Image: Canva)
Unlike Earth’s Moon, which is 3,475 km wide, these newly discovered moons are only a few kilometres across and follow irregular orbits.
(Image: Canva)
Many of these small moons move in chaotic paths, often orbiting in reverse relative to Saturn’s larger moons like Titan and Rhea.
(Image: Canva)
The moons were detected using the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope by stacking multiple images to track faint, distant objects.
(Image: Canva)
Following tradition, these newly identified moons will be named after Gallic, Norse, and Inuit gods in the coming months.
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Astronomer Scott Sheppard had previously hinted at their existence between 2004 and 2007 but lacked the technology to confirm them.
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Saturn’s icy composition may explain its high moon count, as it likely captured more objects than Jupiter, which has rockier surroundings.
(Image: Canva)
This discovery offers new insights into Saturn’s history and the evolution of moons in our solar system. More discoveries may be ahead!
(Image: Canva)