Saturn gained 128 new moons, with a total of 274 moons

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has officially recognised 128 new moons for the gas giant planet Saturn, taking the number of moons of the planet to 274.  The number of Saturn’s moons increased after the IAU recognised the discoveries from a team of astronomers led by Edward Ashton at the Academia Sinica in Taiwan. 

Saturn now officially has the largest number of moons of the eight planets in our solar system. Jupiter, with 95 moons, has the second-highest number of moons in the solar system. 

The 128 new moons were discovered by stacking images from the Canada-France-Hawaii telescope. Some of Saturn’s other moons were discovered by space voyages of the Voyager 1 and Cassini spacecraft. when it passed by Saturn.

What is a moon?

There is no precise definition of the moon by the International Astronomical Union. According to the IAU, a solid object or a natural satellite in orbit around a planet, a dwarf planet, a minor planet, or a trans neptunian object (lying beyond the orbit of Neptune) is called a moon (with a small m) in public usage.

The natural satellite that orbits around the earth is called the Moon(with capital M).

The newly discovered moons are all small, and they are only a few kilometres across.

Regular and Irregular Moon 

Regular moons are formed at the same time as the planets were formed. Many scientists believe that the moon was formed out of gas and dust that circulated around the planets in the early solar system.

The irregular moons were formed later on when the strong gravitational pull of the planets captured the solid natural objects. 

The regular moon revolves around its planets in a predictable circular orbit, while the irregular 

Moons normally orbit in big ovals further away from planets and at a range of angles. 

Out of 274 moons, Saturn has 24 regular moons and 250 irregular moons.

Moons in Our Solar System 

• After the latest update by IAU, the total number of moons in our solar system is 416. 
• Saturn has 274, followed by Jupiter with 95, Uranus 28, Neptune 16, Mars 2, and Earth 1.
•  Mercury and Venus have no moon.

How are the Moons named? 

• Paris, France-based IAU, since its establishment in 1919, is the sole international authority to name the planets and their satellites.
• Initially, newly discovered moons are given numbers and later named after mythological characters from a wide variety of cultures. 
• At present, the discoverers suggest names for moons they have discovered and normally they are accepted by the IAU.

First Moon to be discovered outside Earth 

• In 1610, the Italian astronomer and mathematician Galileo Galilei discovered four moons of Jupiter- Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto through a telescope. Initially, Galileo thought they were stars. 
• In 1614, Simon Marius suggested the names Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto (drawn from Greco-Roman mythology)..  
• Later, Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygen discovered the first moon of Saturn, Titan, in 1655.