Saturn has the most moons in our Solar System (Credit: NASA / JPL / Space Science Institute/ Public Domain/ Wikimedia.org/

With 146 moons, Saturn had already surpassed its closest competitor, Jupiter, which has just 95. The discovery of 128 more has pushed Saturn's total to 274, further cementing its title as the "moon king." That is nearly twice the combined total of all other planets.

"Sure enough, we found 128 new moons,” said the study's lead researcher, Dr. Edward Ashton. "Based on our projections, I don’t think Jupiter will ever catch up."

The moons were detected between 2019 and 2023 using the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope in Hawaii. But they were not officially recognized by the International Astronomical Union until March 11, 2025. Some are less than 2.5 miles (4 km) across. In comparison, Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, measures about 3,199 miles (5,150 km) wide. However, all have verified orbits around Saturn. This is a key requirement for an object to be considered a moon.

The orbits of the 128 newly found moons (Credit: K ly/ Phys.org)

The newly-discovered moons are "irregular." This means their orbits are tilted compared to the flat plane of Saturn’s rings and larger moons. With these additions, the planet now has 250 irregular moons. They are grouped into three families based on their orbits: Inuit, Gallic, and Norse. Most of the new moons belong to the Norse group, which orbits Saturn in reverse — opposite to the planet’s rotation.

The researchers think these moons are fragments of larger space rocks that collided and broke apart less than 100 million years ago. The pieces were later pulled into orbit by Saturn’s gravity. A closer examination could provide insights into the early Solar System, when such collisions were far more common.

Resources: Space.com, theguardian.com, NASA.gov