The Earth's Moon may seem unique, but the Solar System hosts hundreds of natural satellites. Most of these bodies orbit gas giants, and the latest addition—a remarkable 62 moons—has been found around Saturn.
With this discovery, Saturn now boasts more than 100 confirmed moons, a milestone announced by the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center and made possible through the efforts of the University of British Columbia.
Moons vary widely in size, shape, and composition. While the largest are visible through a simple pair of binoculars, countless smaller, fainter ones elude detection without sophisticated techniques.
Saturn’s first known moon, Titan, was discovered in 1655. It has a dense nitrogen atmosphere and a surface rich in ice and liquid hydrocarbons. Since then, dozens of smaller, irregularly shaped moons have been catalogued.
Over many years, the research team focused on observing Saturn and its surroundings in hopes of uncovering additional satellites.
Using the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, they employed a “shift‑and‑stack” method: images are aligned at the rate of a moon’s motion and then combined, amplifying faint signals that would be invisible in single exposures.
Long‑term data collection was essential to differentiate true satellites from transient comets or passing asteroids.
The combined observations revealed 62 new moons, raising Saturn’s total to 145 and making it the first planet to exceed 100 confirmed satellites—surpassing Jupiter, which currently has 95.
Many of the newly found moons are classified as irregular, orbiting at greater distances and with more elliptical paths than their regular counterparts.
Scientists believe these moons likely formed from collision debris, similar to the hypothesized origins of Mars’ moons Phobos and Deimos. Such events could explain their eccentric orbits and irregular shapes.
“As we push the limits of modern telescopes, we find increasing evidence that a moderate‑sized moon orbiting retrograde around Saturn was shattered roughly 100 million years ago,” explained Brett Gladman, a professor in UBC’s Department of Physics and Astronomy and co‑author of the study.
