Saturn overtakes Jupiter with the number of orbiting satellites

The number of asteroids orbiting Saturn is 82, surpassing the previously recorded 79 "Moon" of Jupiter. This is also a new record in the Solar System.

Astronomers recently discovered another 20 rock mass around Saturn, making the planet the host of the most satellites in the Solar System.The number of asteroids orbiting Saturn has been raised to 82, surpassing a record 79 planets around Jupiter, according to the Guardian.

Astronomer Scott Sheppard, who is in charge of the research at the Carnegie Science Institute in Washington DC, said 'these satellites are very far from Saturn' , each asteroid at a distance of about 5km.

Saturn is currently the planet with the most orbiting moons in the Solar System.(Photo: NASA).

When the Solar System formed, the vast amount of dust and gas surrounding the Sun gathered into eight planets today. Sheppard believes that right after Saturn formed more than 4 billion years ago, asteroids and comets have been attracted to the gravity of Saturn and orbited it ever since.

At that time, depending on the approach angle, comets and asteroids straying too close to Saturn will have completely different orbits. Only three of these satellites have a orbit that is consistent with Saturn, which means that it is rotating in the same direction as the host's orbit.

The remaining seventeen satellites are in opposite orbit, which means they are in the opposite direction of Saturn's orbit. One of these asteroids is the furthest away from Saturn ever recorded.