Jupiter overtakes Saturn as planet with most moons; how is this significant for Science?

The gas giant Jupiter is now the planet with the most number of Moons, overtaking the ringed planet Saturn for the title. This comes after 12 new Moons were discovered around the planet through observations taken between 2021 and 2022. With the new discovery, the total number of confirmed Moons around Jupiter has jumped to 92 while Saturn has 83 confirmed natural satellites orbiting it. 

Characteristics of the Moons

The discovery was made public after its publication by the Minor Planet Center (MPC) operated by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, the Sky and Telescope magazine reported. The confirmation was made after the MPC's orbital calculations suggested that there are new objects that are orbiting Jupiter but were unreported until now. 

As for the characteristics of the Moons, they are said to be small and seven of the new ones are among the 71 outermost Jovian Moons, orbiting once every 550 days or more. Interestingly, these new Moons, as per scientists, were caught by Jupiter at a later stage considering their retrograde orbit meaning some of them are moving in the opposite direction of the inner Moons. 

Scientists, however, say that Saturn might soon catch up if objects down to about three kilometres across fulfill the characteristics of a Moon. Such objects are about three times higher in number around Saturn than Jupiter, observations have revealed. These smaller entities are suspected to have formed the debris of a larger Moon that might have undergone disruption a few hundred million years ago.

Why is the discovery significant?

This comes just a few months before the European Space Agency (ESA) is targeting the launch of its JUICE mission later this year to explore Jupiter's Galilean Moons. The discovery is significant because astronomers now have a higher number of subjects that they can target to learn more about the solar system and its origins. Moreover, they might also uncover some of the most unimaginable features of those Moons. Jupiter's Moon Ganymede, for instance, is the only Moon in our solar system with its own magnetic field and is the biggest in the solar system. Besides, Europa has a huge ocean beneath its icy surface which could be habitable for life. NASA also has plans to explore this Europa by launching a spacecraft in 2024 to determine if its internal ocean is suitable for life.