April 14, 2025 | 01:03 pm
TEMPO.CO, Bandung - The planet Saturn has recently gained an additional 128 natural satellites. The Minor Planet Center of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) noted that Saturn now has a total of 274 "moons".
Yatny Yulianti, a researcher from the Bosscha Observatory in Lembang, West Java, said that the finding has a significant impact on the field of astronomy. "It helps scientists study how the Saturn system formed and evolved," she told Tempo on Sunday, April 13, 2025.
The latest condition of the planet Saturn could also provide clues about the distribution and composition of natural satellites or moons. A multi-moon system orbiting a planet can provide insight into the dynamics of gravity within a complex system. "Interactions of these moons with the planet can help scientists understand the dynamics of orbits, resonances, and the stability of planetary systems in general," said Yatny, who is also a staff member of the Education and Public Outreach Division of the Bosscha Observatory.
Referring to data from the Bosscha Observatory, 122 out of the total 274 moons of Saturn are classified as irregular moons. The irregular characteristics are only possessed by moons around the four giant planets, namely Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
Unlike the primary moons, the orbits of these irregular moons are retrograde or appear to move backward. The hundreds of natural satellites are believed to be planetesimals that formed and were captured by the gravitational pull of the parent planet around 4.6 billion years ago, specifically in the final stages of planet formation. Irregular moons are old when the planets in the Solar System were still young.
According to Yatny, the number of Saturn's moons could still increase, but it could also decrease. She cited the case of Pluto, whose planetary status was revoked based on an agreement among scientists in defining celestial objects. "If there is a change in the definition of moons in the future, it is possible that the planets will lose some of their moons," she said.
New moons on Saturn were discovered using high-resolution telescopes and cameras. These monitoring facilities are able to detect very small and dim celestial objects that were not visible with older generation telescopes.
Advancements in observation methods and computational techniques in data processing also contribute to processing thousands of images in a relatively short time. With computer systems, Yatny said, it is possible to detect small movements of objects orbiting around Saturn within a certain period.
Yatny added that the definition or boundary of moon objects among astronomers is not as strict as that of planets. Objects orbiting a planet in a stable manner over a long period of time can already be categorized as moons or planetary satellites. "Around Saturn, there are still celestial bodies that fail to be categorized as moons because their orbits are unstable and they are easily ejected," she said.
Previously Observed but Not Tracked
Astronomy enthusiasts from the South Sky community in Bandung, Avivah Yamani, stated that Uranus currently holds the record for the most moons of any planet in the Solar System. "If Jupiter is the King of Planets, then Saturn is now the King of Moons," she said.
Referring to information on the South Sky's official website, additional moons of Saturn were first observed with the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) from the peak of Mauna Kea, Hawaii, at an altitude of 4,204 meters above sea level. The observations took place from 2019 to 2023.
A multinational team of astronomers initially discovered 62 new moons on Saturn. They later found the traces of faint objects within the Saturn system which were confirmed as moons in 2023.
Some of the natural satellites that were discovered were a reevaluation of observations from two decades earlier. Scott Sheppard, an astronomer from the United States, once revealed the presence of faint objects around Saturn from observations in 2004-2007. However, the orbit of that celestial body could not be tracked when observed with the 8.2-meter Subaru Telescope.
Unlike the moons orbiting the Earth, or Titan, which is Saturn's largest moon, the majority of Saturn's natural satellites are small objects with diameters of only a few kilometers. For comparison, the diameter of Titan reaches 5,149 kilometers, while the Earth's equatorial diameter is 12,742 kilometers.
In addition to their diminutive size, the new moons of Saturn orbit in an elliptical shape. Their movements are irregular and opposite to the relative direction of the other moons, such as Titan and Rhea. Astronomers estimate that most of these new moons originated from fragments of larger moons that collided in the past. Some are also believed to be the result of Saturn's gravitational capture.
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