Saturn is the only planet in the solar system that has more than 100 moons

As I mentioned digital lookSaturn has returned to the top of the ranking of planets with the largest number of moons in the solar system, after being overtaken by Jupiter for a brief period earlier this year.

Determining the number of satellites that track the globe is not so simple. First, there is debate about what distinguishes the moon from a small space rock trapped in a planet’s orbit. In terms of size, there is no strict definition in this regard.

Saturn is a particularly interesting example, famous for being surrounded by a beautiful ring system made up of billions of tiny pieces of ice and rock. However, at present, none of them are identified as lunar.

Another point is that astronomers are constantly making new observations of natural satellites orbiting planets, and there are currently hundreds of candidate moons for Jupiter and Saturn awaiting confirmation. This is why the title of planet with the most moons fluctuates so much between these two giants.

However, the latest software update Minor Planet Centrewhich is part of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) and responsible, among other things, for cataloging the number of satellites of the planets, shows that the ringed giant has opened up a significant advantage over its direct competitor.

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Stacking images discovers new moons of Saturn

One Stady A team at the Academia Sinica Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics in Taiwan, led by postdoctoral researcher Edward Ashton, added 63 more bodies to Saturn’s moon pool, bringing the staggering total to 145 bodies.

To detect the moons, which are too subtle to show up in individual images, the researchers used a technique of “stacking” the images.

In doing so, not only does the planet sequester itself in the lead, but it is also the only planet in the solar system with more than 100 natural satellites.

Among them, Enceladus stands out, which is of interest to the scientific community especially due to the presence of liquid water at a shallow depth, and Titan, the only moon in the solar system with an atmosphere equal to that of Earth.

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