Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

128 New Moons Found Orbiting Saturn in Mindblowing Discovery
Science Alert ^ | March 12, 2025 | Michelle Starr

Posted on 03/12/2025 11:27:12 AM PDT by Red Badger

The race between Jupiter and Saturn for the most moons in the Solar System may have just finally come screeching to a halt.

A team of scientists has found a whopping 128 previously unknown moons hanging around Saturn, in a discovery officially recognized by the International Astronomical Union. This brings the planet's total number of known moons to 274, leaving Jupiter, with its mere 95 moons, in the dust.

The first hint that there were more moons awaiting discovery came between 2019 and 2021, when 62 such objects were identified. Other small objects were also spotted at the time that couldn't yet be designated.

"With the knowledge that these were probably moons, and that there were likely even more waiting to be discovered, we revisited the same sky fields for three consecutive months in 2023," says astronomer Edward Ashton of Academia Sincia in Taiwan.

"Sure enough, we found 128 new moons. Based on our projections, I don't think Jupiter will ever catch up."

VIDEOAS AT LINK.................

These moons, to be clear, are not like Earth's Moon, nice and large and pleasingly spherical. They are tiny moonlets, all blobby and potato-shaped, just a few kilometers across – what are known as irregular moons.

The researchers believe that they originally comprised a small group of objects captured by gravity in Saturn's orbit early in the Solar System's history. A subsequent series of collisions would have smashed them to moony bits, resulting in the preponderance of small rocks the astronomers have found.

In fact, they believe a collision must have taken place as recently as 100 million years ago, which is a very short eyeblink of time for a planet. The location of the moons, too, within the Norse group of Saturn's moons, suggests that this is the place where the recent collision occurred.

The Norse group are moons that orbit in a retrograde direction, at inclined angles, and on elliptical paths, outside Saturn's rings. Like the newly discovered moons, they, too, are relatively potatoey.

Potatoes. Rings. Sounds familiar, somehow…

One haul of 64 moons has been detailed in a new paper submitted to the Planetary Science Journal. The preprint is available on arXiv.


TOPICS: Astronomy; History; Science; UFO's
KEYWORDS: astronomy; catastrophism; michellestarr; norsegroup; potatoey; retrograde; saturn; science; xplanets
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-58 next last
To: Magnum44

That looks like a ‘Judge’ one of my buddies had in the Marines............


21 posted on 03/12/2025 11:46:03 AM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 19 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

To which Pluto said, “What am I?”


22 posted on 03/12/2025 11:49:16 AM PDT by OrioleFan (Republicans believe every day is July 4th, Democrats believe every day is April 15th.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: enumerated
Jupiter does have the largest moon, but only one of its 95 moons is larger than Titan, Saturn's largest moon.

Saturn gets 128 new moons. The earth only gets one new moon, and that only once a month.

I'm old enough to remember when Jupiter had 12 moons and Saturn had 9. And the planet Pluto had none.

23 posted on 03/12/2025 11:50:19 AM PDT by Verginius Rufus
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

Aliens put them there!


24 posted on 03/12/2025 11:53:16 AM PDT by SaxxonWoods (The road is a dangerous place man, you can die out anhere...or worse. -Johnny Paycheck )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: enumerated

Jupiter and Saturn each have a moon that’s larger than the planet Mercury. And several moons larger than Pluto.


25 posted on 03/12/2025 11:56:00 AM PDT by MRadtke (Light a candle or curse the darkness?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

At least they didn’t find new rings around, well, you know.


26 posted on 03/12/2025 12:06:03 PM PDT by Disambiguator
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

27 posted on 03/12/2025 12:06:36 PM PDT by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is opinion or satire. Or both.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

Saturn’s Werewolves must be out of control.


28 posted on 03/12/2025 12:07:47 PM PDT by tumblindice (America's founding fathers: all armed conservatives)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: duckbutt
These seem so small. What constitutes a “moon” versus an “asteroid”?

Exactly my thought. https://www.astronomy.com/science/multiple-mini-moons-could-be-orbiting-earth/

29 posted on 03/12/2025 12:08:40 PM PDT by Tell It Right (1 Thessalonians 5:21 -- Put everything to the test, hold fast to that which is true.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: central_va

even if you wanted to do that how would you do it

or stop doing it if you discovered that you are doing it


30 posted on 03/12/2025 12:09:19 PM PDT by one guy in new jersey
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

I bet they have an absolutely insane werewolf problem...


31 posted on 03/12/2025 12:11:56 PM PDT by Dead Corpse (A Psalm in napalm...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger
All of those pebbles in Saturn's rings could be called moons, giving it a count in the thousands.
There should be a size range for something to be called a moon, otherwise the count simply depends on how good your observations are.
If they can demote Pluto (still have not forgiven them for that), then moons can be demoted to boulders, rocks, pebbles or dust.

32 posted on 03/12/2025 12:12:31 PM PDT by BitWielder1 (I'd rather have Unequal Wealth than Equal Poverty.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

Not just rings, but its own little asteroid belt.


33 posted on 03/12/2025 12:14:31 PM PDT by Salman (Lasu Eŭropon bruli!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SaxxonWoods

These were the generation ships that first brought us to this solar system... We used some of them to get to Mars where war and Communism destroyed the planetary ecology.

We used our last reserves to get us here... This is our last hope unless we can re-develop the tech to get back to Mars, and then back to our ships around Saturn...


34 posted on 03/12/2025 12:14:40 PM PDT by Dead Corpse (A Psalm in napalm...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 24 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

” all blobby and potato-shaped”

Like a group of liberal protesters


35 posted on 03/12/2025 12:17:44 PM PDT by Organic Panic (Democrats. Memories as short as Joe Biden's eyes)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Organic Panic

I just love technical scientific jargon!............


36 posted on 03/12/2025 12:18:25 PM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 35 | View Replies]

To: Verginius Rufus

Why was the previous count up 2^6 and this time it’s up 2^7? Coincidence? Software limitation? Or…? (Twilight Zone music)


37 posted on 03/12/2025 12:20:06 PM PDT by The Truth Will Make You Free ( )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 23 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger; annie laurie; Knitting A Conundrum; Viking2002; Ernest_at_the_Beach; Mmogamer; ...
Nice!
· join · view topics · view or post blog · bookmark ·
· post new topic · subscribe ·
Google news searches: exoplanet · exosolar · extrasolar ·
X-Planets

38 posted on 03/12/2025 12:25:21 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Putin should skip ahead to where he kills himself in the bunker.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

Is this good news for the Moonies?


39 posted on 03/12/2025 12:28:07 PM PDT by Tom Tetroxide (Psalm 146:3 "Do not trust in princes, in the Son of Man, who has no salvation.")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: 75thOVI; Abathar; agrace; aimhigh; Alice in Wonderland; AnalogReigns; AndrewC; aragorn; ...
[snip] These moons, to be clear, are not like Earth's Moon, nice and large and pleasingly spherical. They are tiny moonlets, all blobby and potato-shaped, just a few kilometers across – what are known as irregular moons... a collision must have taken place as recently as 100 million years ago, which is a very short eyeblink of time for a planet. The location of the moons, too, within the Norse group of Saturn's moons, suggests that this is the place where the recent collision occurred. The Norse group are moons that orbit in a retrograde direction, at inclined angles, and on elliptical paths, outside Saturn's rings. Like the newly discovered moons, they, too, are relatively potatoey. [/snip]



40 posted on 03/12/2025 12:30:36 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Putin should skip ahead to where he kills himself in the bunker.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-58 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson