Prelims – General Science

Why in news?

Astronomers have discovered 128 new moons around Saturn, increasing its total count to 274 moons.

• Saturn is the second-largest planet in the solar system.
• Position- 6^th planet from the Sun.
• Type- Gas giant.
• It is surrounded by a beautiful ring system.
• Size - With an equatorial diameter of about 74,897 miles (120,500 kilometers), Saturn is 9 times wider than Earth.
• Distance - Saturn is 9.5 Astronomical Units (AU) away from the Sun.

One astronomical unit (abbreviated as AU), is the distance from the Sun to Earth.

• Mass- 95 times the mass of Earth.
• Composition- Mostly hydrogen and helium, similar to Jupiter.
• Density- The least dense planet in the Solar System (it could float in water).
• Orbit & Rotation - One day on Saturn takes only 10.7 hours.
• Orbital Period- Takes 29.5 Earth years to complete one orbit around the Sun.
• Moon system of Saturn
  • Total Moons- 274 (after the recent discovery of 128 new moons).
  • Largest Moon- Titan (2,159 miles across).
  • Other Major Moons- Enceladus is known for its subsurface ocean and icy plumes.
  • Many newly discovered moons are small (as tiny as 2 miles across) and follow irregular, retrograde orbits.
• Discovery - Observation in 2023 - Conducted using the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope at Mauna Kea, Hawaii.
• Tracking Technique- Scientists observed patches of space near Saturn and tracked the motion of small moon-like objects over time.
• Characteristics of the new moons
  • All are irregular moons – meaning they have highly inclined orbits and travel backward (retrograde motion).
  • Some moons are as small as 2 miles across.
  • The discovery suggests these moons are remnants of cosmic collisions that happened 100 million years ago.
• The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has officially ratified the newly identified moons.

Reference

Indian Express| Newly discovered moons of Saturn