Astronomers recently announced the discovery of 128 new moons orbiting Saturn, raising its total moon count to 274. This finding, confirmed by the International Astronomical Union, significantly surpasses Jupiter's moon count and highlights Saturn's dominance as the planet with the most satellites. The discovery could provide insights into solar system evolution, as the small moons have chaotic, distant orbits. Two decades of observations finally led to this confirmation, attributed to advancements in research techniques, and will be detailed in an upcoming paper by astronomer Edward Ashton.
"Saturn is the king of the moons," says Scott Sheppard, an astronomer at the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington DC, whose observations provided a starting point for the finding.
The discovery is "fascinating", says Samantha Lawler, an astronomer at the University of Regina in Canada, who also contributed observations that led to the finding but did not contribute to the forthcoming paper about them. "It just shows how much is out there."
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