moons

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Fresh Clues on Saturn Moon Boost Case for Alien Life

Cassini data reveals complex organics in the icy plumes of Enceladus

(Newser) - Scientists have uncovered new evidence that Saturn's moon Enceladus may be one of the solar system's most promising candidates for extraterrestrial life. According to a study published in Nature Astronomy cited by the New York Post , researchers from the University of Stuttgart analyzed ice grains ejected from...

128 New Moons Nearly Double Saturn's Tally
We Have a New
'Moon King'
Mar 12, 2025 11:07 AM CDT

We Have a New 'Moon King'

Discovery of 128 Saturn moons brings planet's total to 274

(Newser) - Move over, Jupiter: Saturn is the new "moon king," with 274 planetary satellites in orbit, almost half of which were only just discovered. As of 2023, Jupiter was considered the leader among moon-hosting planets in the solar system with 92 confirmed, compared to Saturn's 83. Jupiter now...

Pluto May Have Captured Moon With a Kiss

Researchers believed they were joined together for about 10 hours after collision

(Newser) - The process that left Pluto and its largest moon orbiting each other at a close distance may have been a lot gentler than earlier believed, researchers say. In a study published in the journal Nature Geoscience , researchers say Pluto and Charon may have briefly joined, then separated, in what they...

Saturn's 'Death Star' Moon May Hide an Ocean
Saturn's
'Death Star'
Moon May
Hide an Ocean
NEW STUDY
Feb 8, 2024 6:25 PM CST

Saturn's 'Death Star' Moon May Hide an Ocean

Relatively young ocean thought to fill half of Mimas' volume

(Newser) - Astronomers have found the best evidence yet of a vast, young ocean beneath the icy exterior of Saturn's Death Star lookalike mini moon. The French-led team analyzed changes in Mimas' orbit and rotation and reported that a hidden ocean 12 to 18 miles beneath the frozen crust was more...

NASA Releases 'Stunning' Images of a Jupiter Moon

It's been more than 20 years since we got this close to the volcanic Io

(Newser) - A NASA spacecraft paid a rare visit to an old friend over the holiday weekend—the volcanic Jupiter moon of Io, reports NPR . The Juno craft made a close flyby, at just under 1,000 miles, for the first time in 20 years and captured new photos that NASA is...

NASA's Surprise Find: This Asteroid's 'Dinky Sidekick'

Lucy spacecraft discovers 'mini moon' during flyby of Dinkinesh space hunk

(Newser) - The little asteroid visited by NASA's Lucy spacecraft this week had a big surprise for scientists. It turns out that the asteroid Dinkinesh has a dinky sidekick—a mini moon. The discovery was made during Wednesday's flyby of Dinkinesh, 300 million miles away in the main asteroid belt...

There's a Celestial Event Tonight You Won't See Again Till 2037

August gets itself a super blue moon, which doesn't come around all the time

(Newser) - If you're midway through another boring Wednesday, here's how to jazz things up: Go outside tonight and gawk at a celestial sight that won't be seen again for another 14 years. As Space.com reports, a pretty rare super blue moon will be dangling in the skies...

Space Trivia Buffs: There's a New Leader in Moons

Jupiter adds 12 to reach 92 and move ahead of Saturn

(Newser) - Astronomers have discovered 12 new moons around Jupiter, putting the total count at a record-breaking 92. That's more than any other planet in our solar system. Saturn, the one-time leader, is second with 83 confirmed moons. The Jupiter moons were added recently to a list kept by the International...

In the Movement of Saturn's Biggest Moon, a Shocker

Titan is moving away from the planet 100 times faster than thought

(Newser) - Saturn's largest moon is moving away from the planet 100 times faster than thought—a finding that helps cement a new theory on how moons migrate. NASA explains why moons move at all: A moon's gravity tugs on the planet it is orbiting, "causing a temporary bulge...

Discoveries Mean Saturn Leads Jupiter in Moons, 82-79

A bigger telescope will have to be invented before more can be spotted

(Newser) - The solar system has a new winner in the moon department: 20 new moons have been found around Saturn, giving the ringed planet a total of 82, scientists said Monday. That beats Jupiter and its 79 moons, the AP reports. "It was fun to find that Saturn is the...

Scientists Found Something Surprising Near Uranus

The gas giant may have two small, undiscovered moons

(Newser) - Scientists are taking a closer look at Uranus after strange patterns turned up in images from 30 years ago. Engadget reports that researchers looking at data from NASA's Voyager 2—which became the only spacecraft ever to fly by Uranus when it did so in 1986—noticed that the...

2 Tiny Moons Orbiting Mars May Be Sole Survivors of Many

Scientists question the prevailing theory of how the 2 moons formed

(Newser) - The two moons that orbit Mars, Phobos and Deimos, are pretty dinky as far as moons go, clocking in at just 14 and 7.7 miles wide respectively and known for being rather pathetic potato-shaped bodies that more closely resemble asteroids. And so astronomers have hypothesized that they are in...

We Need to Rename Mars' Moons Quickly
 We Need to Rename 
 Mars' Moons Quickly 
OPINION
Nov 30, 2015 11:23 AM CST

We Need to Rename Mars' Moons Quickly

Phobos and Deimos are way too dark, writes essayist

(Newser) - Each new discovery about Mars seems to show that it's more like Earth than we imagined. NASA, meanwhile, is firming up plans for a trip there. It's high time, then, for a long overdue chore, writes Fortunato Salazar in the Guardian —we've got to rename the...

Single Photo Shows 3 Crescent Moons

Image from Cassini orbiter shows Titan, Rhea, and Mimas in all their crescent glory

(Newser) - It's not often (as in never) that we're able to look up into the night sky and see three crescent moons floating serenely above us. But thanks to a picture from the Cassini orbiter released by NASA, we're able to get a rare look at what three...

Astronomers Ignore People's Pick for Pluto Moon Name

Moons named Styx and Kerberos, despite William Shatner's campaign

(Newser) - Though Star Trek fans (led by William Shatner) overwhelmingly won an online vote to name one of Pluto's recently found moons "Vulcan" earlier this year, the International Astronomical Union has decided against the moniker. It has named the former planet's fourth and fifth moons "Styx" and...

'Vulcan' Wins Pluto's Moon Naming Contest

'Captain Kirk' hails win as Cerberus comes 2nd

(Newser) - The contest to pick Hades-related names for Pluto's fourth and fifth moons is over and the winner will be familiar to Star Trek fans: Vulcan was the runaway winner of the poll at plutorocks.com , taking 174,000 votes out of 475,000 cast for 21 candidates. Vulcan is...

2 Pluto Moons in Need of Devilish Names

P4 and P5 will soon be called something more underworld-y

(Newser) - Want to name Pluto's two tiniest moons? Then you'll need to dig deep into mythology. Astronomers announced a contest today to name the two itty-bitty moons of Pluto discovered over the past two years . Three Pluto moons already have names associated with Hades and the underworld: Charon, the...

Moon No. 5 Found for Pluto
 Moon No. 5 Found for Pluto 
Jul 12, 2012 5:33 AM CDT

Moon No. 5 Found for Pluto

Just 6 miles across, P5 is Pluto's smallest moon yet

(Newser) - It's not a chapter in the Twilight series, but it is a new moon: astronomers have discovered a tiny fifth satellite revolving around distant Pluto, reports Space.com . One year after P4 was announced, now the Hubble Telescope has spied a fifth moon. Pluto's biggest moon, Charon, is...

European Mission: Can Life Exist on Jupiter's Moons?

JUICE probe will launch in 2022

(Newser) - The first Europe-led mission to the outer solar system will explore the icy moons of Jupiter. The European Space Agency approved the JUICE—JUpiter ICy moons Explorer—mission yesterday. The project's solar-powered spacecraft is scheduled to launch in 2022 and arrive in the Jovian system by 2030 to spend...

NASA Nabs Close-Ups of 'Spongy' Saturn Moon

NASA's Cassini probe snaps ultra-close image of Hyperion

(Newser) - NASA's Cassini probe did a fly-by of Saturn’s Hyperion moon, and came away with close-up images that show a remarkably sponge-like surface, the Daily Mail reports. The moon, one of at least 62 ringing the planet, is covered with deep craters, and NASA scientists are hoping to discover what’...

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