Saturn has overtaken Jupiter as the planet with the most moons in our solar system, according to recent confirmations by the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Astronomers, led by Edward Ashton's team, have identified 62 new irregular moons orbiting Saturn, bringing its official total to 145. Jupiter, by comparison, has 95 confirmed moons.
The discoveries were made using a technique called "shift and stack" on data from the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) on Maunakea. This method involves shifting sequential images at the rate a moon is expected to move and stacking them to reveal faint objects. The observations were conducted between 2019 and 2021.
The newly found moons are classified as irregular satellites, meaning they have distant, elliptical, and often inclined orbits. They are believed to be fragments from larger parent bodies that shattered in collisions, potentially billions of years ago. Their sizes are estimated to average about 2.5 kilometers in diameter.
This influx of discoveries highlights the prevalence of small, irregular moon clusters around the giant planets. Researchers suggest Saturn's current lead may be temporary, as deeper surveys could reveal more moons around Jupiter, reigniting the competition for the lunar crown.
