Astronomers have discovered a panoply of new moons orbiting Saturn, bringing the ringed gas giant's total up to 274 moons—far beyond any other planet in our solar system.

Saturn has taken an impressive lead in the "who has the most moons" race with Jupiter after the discovery of a further 128 natural satellites orbiting the gas giant. From 2019 to 2021, the Canada France Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) repeatedly monitored the space around Saturn for signs of moons and other objects.

The objects around the ringed planet are tiny, but some of them may have formed relatively recently in the solar system’s history.

Scientists have discovered 128 new moons around Saturn, bringing the total number to 274. This is the largest number of such objects orbiting a planet in our Solar System. It turns out that Saturn still holds many secrets for us.

The International Astronomical Union formally recognised all of Saturn’s moons this week. The moons are yet to get names but it is confirmed that they will be named after Gallic, Norse and Canadian Inuit gods.

For centuries, Jupiter reigned as king of the moons. Initially, the Big Four, discovered by Galileo, and then as optics and astronomy advanced, more and more, smaller and smaller bodies, until Big J could proudly boast of 95 moons in its orbital thrall.

Scientists have discovered over 100 new moons orbiting Saturn, raising its total to 274. These small rocky moons likely resulted from cosmic collisions. The discovery utilized the Canada France Hawaii Telescope.

The discovery points to what astronomers have thought for decades, that Saturn's rings were caused by a massive collision about 100 million years ago.

Space scientists have announced Saturn has 128 new moons.