Which Planet Has the Most Moons in the Solar System? Key Facts You Should Know
In the Solar System, the planet Saturn has the most moons confirmed, and that is by a wide margin, even over Jupiter and the other planets.
Saturn’s moon record
Currently, Saturn is the leader of the Solar System regarding the number of moons, with hundreds of confirmed natural satellites already counted by astronomers.
Total known moons
The total number of recognized moons consists of large, well-researched moons and very small, faint objects revealed through modern telescopes and deep imaging surveys.
Captured icy bodies
The majority of smaller moons are irregularly shaped and are presumably captured icy or rocky bodies from the outer Solar System, which have been held by Saturn's strong gravity.
Titan: the giant moon
Titan, which is the largest moon of Saturn, is even larger than Mercury and has a thick nitrogen-rich atmosphere with lakes and rivers made up of liquid hydrocarbons.
Ongoing discoveries
As the methods of observing become better, the number of new moons continues to rise, thus the exact number that has been confirmed changes over time.
Why the count matters
One of the reasons for counting Saturn’s many moons is to study them for the purpose of understanding their formation, capture processes, and the conditions on icy worlds which could be habitable.
