More Moons around Jupiter & Saturn

Saturn and two of its moons, Tethys and Dione (both were discovered in 1684). Click on image for full size (31K JPEG) Image courtesy NASA

Astronomers have recently discovered several more moons in our Solar System. Scott Sheppard and David Jewitt of the University of Hawaii and Jan Kleyna of Cambridge University announced the discovery of eight new moons of Jupiter and one new moon of Saturn. Jupiter now has 60 known moons and Saturn has 31 moons that have been discovered to date. The new moons were discovered using telescopes on the top of the volcano Mauna Kea in Hawaii.

The eight newest moons of Jupiter will be known as S/2003 J13 through J20 for now; permanent names will be assigned later. All eight are very small, having diameters of about two to three kilometers (a mile or two). Sheppard, Jewitt, and Kleyna had discovered 12 new moons of Jupiter earlier this year. Astronomers think there may be as many as 100 moons with diameters of one kilometer or larger orbiting Jupiter, so don't be surprised if more moons of the Solar System's largest planet are discovered soon!

The new moon of Saturn is known as S/2003 S1 for now. It is about eight kilometers (five miles) across, and is the first new moon of Saturn discovered since December 2000. Scientists think the Cassini spacecraft may discover many more moons orbiting Saturn when it arrives at and goes into orbit around the ringed planet in 2004.

Saturn and two of its moons, Tethys and Dione (both were discovered in 1684). Click on image for full size (31K JPEG) Image courtesy NASA

Astronomers have recently discovered nine new moons. The astronomers found eight new moons of Jupiter and one new moon of Saturn. We now know of 60 moons orbiting Jupiter and 31 orbiting Saturn. The new moons were discovered using telescopes on the top of a volcano called Mauna Kea in Hawaii.

All of the new moons are small. The new moons of Jupiter are about two or three kilometers (a mile or two) across. The diameter of the new moon of Saturn is about eight kilometers (five miles).

Twelve new moons of Jupiter were discovered earlier this year. The last time astronomers found new moons of Saturn was December 2000. Scientists think there are many more small moons that haven't been found yet. A spacecraft called Cassini is on its way to Saturn. When it gets there, it may find more moons around Saturn!

Saturn and two of its moons, Tethys and Dione (both were discovered in 1684). Click on image for full size (31K JPEG) Image courtesy NASA

Astronomers have discovered nine new moons. The astronomers found eight new moons of Jupiter and one new moon of Saturn. Jupiter has 60 moons that we know about. Saturn has 31.

All of the new moons are small. The new moons of Jupiter are about two or three kilometers (a mile or two) across. The new moon of Saturn is about eight kilometers (five miles) across.

Astronomers found twelve new moons of Jupiter earlier this year. They found several new moons of Saturn more than two years ago. Scientists think there are many more small moons that haven't been found yet. A spacecraft called Cassini is on its way to Saturn. When it gets there, it may find more moons around Saturn!