Astronomers have discovered 128 new satellites orbiting Saturn. This has cemented its leadership in the list of Solar System planets with the largest number of moons, UNN writes with reference to The Guardian.
Details
Until recently, the title of "Satellite King" belonged to Jupiter, but now Saturn has a total of 274 satellites, almost twice as many as all other planets combined.
A group of researchers previously identified 62 Saturn satellites using the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope and, seeing faint hints that there were more, conducted further observations.
We found 128 new satellites. Based on our forecasts, I don't think Jupiter will ever catch up (Saturn - ed.)
It is noted that the International Astronomical Union has officially recognized the satellites, and they have been assigned strings of numbers and letters for the time being. They will later be named after Gallic, Scandinavian, and Canadian Inuit gods, in accordance with the conventions for Saturn's satellites.
The satellites were identified using the "shift and stack" technique, in which astronomers obtain sequential images that track the path of a celestial body.
All 128 new satellites are "irregular satellites", potato-shaped objects that are only a few kilometers in diameter. The increasing number of these objects highlights possible future disagreements about what is actually considered a satellite
According to scientists, understanding the dynamics of Saturn's many satellites may also help resolve the question of the origin of Saturn's rings. They, according to some researchers, may be the remnants of a satellite that was torn apart by the planet's gravity.
Recall
In February, the Blue Ghost spacecraft took pictures of the surface of the Moon's south pole as it approached Earth's satellite. In addition, the spacecraft conducted 10 scientific and technical experiments. These include studies of lunar dust, the radiation environment on the Moon, and the interaction of the solar wind with the Earth's magnetosphere.
Earlier, the European Space Agency published new images of the planet Mercury. The spacecraft, launched in 2018, is scheduled to land on Mercury in 2026 for detailed study.
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