20 New Moons Found | Saturn
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| New moons Diagram |
With the discovery of 20 more moons orbiting Saturn, the ringed planet has overtaken Jupiter as host to the most moons in the Solar system. Saturn now has 82 known moons, whereas Jupiter has a paltry 79.
International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Centre by a team of astronomers from the Carnegie Institute for Science led by Scott S. Sheppard announced the discovery. This is the latest advance in the 400-year history of our understanding of the satellites of our neighbouring planets.
Observations revealed a population of moons that are often described as "irregular" moons. They are split into three distinct groups: Inuit, Gallic, and Norse. They all have large, elliptical orbits at an angle to those of moons closer to the planet.
Of the 20 new moons, 17 belong to the Norse group including the furthest known moon from the planet. Their estimated sizes are of the order of 5km in diameter.
In the meantime, the 20 new moons need names. Carnegie Science has invited everyone to help.
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