Astronomers have discovered 11 new moons of Saturn

On March 16, the Minor Planet Center of the International Astronomical Union (MPC) announced on its official website the discovery of 11 new moons of Saturn and four moons of Jupiter. Saturn holds the record for the number of moons in the Solar system — now it has 285.

A group led by Edward Ashton from the University of British Columbia discovered a cluster of 11 new irregular moons of Saturn. The scientists analyzed data from the CFHT ground-based telescope for the period from 2019 to 2023. The new facilities were designated S/2020 S 45-48 and S/2023 S 51-57.

All of Saturn's discovered moons are characterized by diameters of no more than 5 km and noticeable orbital inclinations. Most of them are moving retrograde — that is, in the direction opposite to the rotation of the planet. Such characteristics fit into two main hypotheses about the origin of such objects: either they are asteroids gravitationally captured by the planet, or fragments formed as a result of a relatively recent major collision of bodies in the Saturn system.

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Over the past decade, Jupiter and Saturn have regularly changed places in the ranking of planets with the largest number of satellites, due to several ongoing search programs and improvements in observational technology. Since May 2023, the Saturn system has held the first place: in the spring of 2025, the number of its satellites reached 274, and with the new discovery increased to 285.

In parallel, a group led by Scott Sheppard of the Carnegie Institution discovered four new moons of Jupiter — S/2011 J 4, S/2011 J 5, S/2018 J 5 and S/2024 J 1. This brings the number of known moons of the gas giant to 101. The researchers used observational data from the Las Campanas and Cerro Tololo observatories, as well as the Subaru telescope for the period from 2011 to 2026. All four objects are irregular and do not exceed several kilometers in diameter. Satellite S/2011 J 4 belongs to the little—studied Himalaya group, the other three belong to the extensive Karma group.

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Scientists from the SETI Institute reported on February 27 that Titan, Saturn's largest moon, could have appeared as a result of the collision of two satellites that occurred 100 million years ago. Researchers believe that this cosmic crash changed Saturn's entire lunar system and indirectly triggered the formation of its famous rings. Titan's unusual origin is indicated by its orbit and surprisingly smooth surface.

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