How Many Moons Does Saturn Have? Meet the 150+ Moons

The Growing Count: Over 150 and Rising

Until recently, Jupiter was known as the moon king with the most satellites. However, a series of discoveries between 2019 and 2023 tipped the scales. Astronomers, using powerful ground-based telescopes and advanced detection algorithms, uncovered dozens of new Saturnian satellites, pushing Saturn’s moon count to more than 150 confirmed bodies. The reason this number keeps growing is twofold. First, improved observational technology allows scientists to spot smaller and fainter objects near the planet. 

Second, many of Saturn’s outer moons are tiny and irregularly shaped, making them difficult to detect against the background of space. These moonlets, some no more than a mile wide, are often captured objects—asteroids and icy bodies pulled into Saturn’s gravitational influence. While the International Astronomical Union (IAU) has officially named only about 60 of these moons, the others remain cataloged by provisional designations, each awaiting further study. As our tools continue to evolve, the count may climb even higher, revealing an increasingly complex and dynamic system.

Titan: The King of Moons

The crown jewel of Saturn’s satellites is Titan, the second-largest moon in the solar system and the only one with a dense, nitrogen-rich atmosphere. Larger than Mercury, Titan is a world unto itself, with rivers, lakes, and seas—not of water, but of liquid methane and ethane. Its thick, orange-hued atmosphere hides a frigid but dynamic surface sculpted by hydrocarbon rain and erosion.

Discovered by Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens in 1655, Titan has been the subject of intense scientific interest. NASA’s Cassini spacecraft and its piggyback lander, Huygens, offered unprecedented insights into this alien world. In 2005, the Huygens probe became the first and only spacecraft to land on a moon in the outer solar system, transmitting breathtaking images of a pebble-strewn surface beneath a misty sky.

Titan’s most exciting feature, however, might be what lies beneath. Radar data suggests a global subsurface ocean of salty water, raising tantalizing questions about the possibility of microbial life. In the coming decades, NASA’s Dragonfly mission will take flight across Titan’s surface using a rotorcraft, searching for prebiotic chemistry and habitability in one of the most Earth-like environments beyond our planet.

Enceladus: The Icy Geyser Moon

Though smaller than Titan, Enceladus may be Saturn’s most active and intriguing moon. Only about 310 miles in diameter, Enceladus appears deceptively quiet on the surface. But in 2005, Cassini made a groundbreaking discovery—it spotted plumes of water vapor erupting from fissures near the moon’s south pole. These geysers shoot icy particles hundreds of miles into space and feed Saturn’s E ring. More astonishingly, the plumes contain water, organic molecules, and heat, suggesting a subsurface ocean in contact with rock—a potential crucible for life. Enceladus’ smooth surface, fresh ice, and lack of craters indicate continual geological activity. Some scientists believe hydrothermal vents on the seafloor could mimic those on Earth, where life thrives without sunlight. If life exists beyond Earth, Enceladus is one of the best places to look.

Mimas: The Death Star Lookalike

Small but striking, Mimas is best known for its uncanny resemblance to the Death Star from Star Wars. This 246-mile-wide moon is heavily cratered, with one colossal impact feature—Herschel Crater—dominating its appearance. The crater spans nearly a third of Mimas’ diameter and makes the moon look like it was plucked from science fiction. Despite its battered look, Mimas has drawn scientific curiosity for another reason. Its orbital resonance with other moons helps shape Saturn’s rings, particularly the Cassini Division. Some researchers even speculate that Mimas could have an internal ocean, based on unusual wobbling in its orbit—though the evidence remains inconclusive.

Tethys, Dione, and Rhea: Icy Relics of the Past

Saturn’s mid-sized moons—Tethys, Dione, and Rhea—are icy, crater-covered worlds that bear the scars of ancient impacts and tectonic shifts. Each of these moons, measuring between 600 and 950 miles in diameter, reflects high amounts of sunlight thanks to surfaces composed largely of water ice.

Tethys is home to one of the largest canyons in the solar system, Ithaca Chasma, which stretches over 1,200 miles. Dione shows hints of past geological activity, including long cliff-like faults known as chasmata. Rhea, Saturn’s second-largest moon, may have its own tenuous ring system made of debris—though this remains a subject of debate. These moons offer a window into the solar system’s past. Their surfaces are less active today, but their features tell stories of ancient tidal heating, orbital disruptions, and possible subsurface oceans.

Iapetus: The Yin-Yang Moon

One of the most visually unique of Saturn’s moons is Iapetus, a 914-mile-wide satellite known for its stark two-tone coloration. One hemisphere is bright and icy, while the other is dark as coal. This dramatic contrast is likely due to space dust accumulating on one side and triggering thermal feedback that changes the surface chemistry.

Equally puzzling is Iapetus’ equatorial ridge—a mountain range that wraps around its middle like a walnut seam. Some theories suggest the ridge formed from rapid rotation or a collapsed ring system, but no explanation fully satisfies the mystery. Iapetus orbits far from Saturn, taking over 79 days to complete one circuit. Its distant orbit and peculiar appearance make it one of the most enigmatic moons in the outer solar system.

Hyperion: The Tumbling Sponge

Hyperion looks like a sponge and spins like a pinwheel. This oddly shaped moon, only about 170 miles across, has an exceptionally low density and a chaotic rotation. Unlike most moons, it doesn’t rotate in a predictable way, instead tumbling unpredictably as it orbits Saturn. Its pockmarked, porous surface is the result of countless impacts on a weak, icy structure. Hyperion’s dark material is thought to be related to that found on Iapetus, hinting at shared origins or cross-contamination via ring and moon interactions. This chaotic behavior makes Hyperion a compelling subject for studying the physics of small, irregular celestial bodies.

Phoebe: A Captured Wanderer

Unlike Saturn’s major moons, which orbit in the planet’s equatorial plane, Phoebe follows a retrograde orbit—meaning it travels in the opposite direction of most other moons. This alone suggests that Phoebe didn’t form alongside Saturn but was likely captured from the Kuiper Belt. Phoebe is dark, rugged, and ancient. Discovered in 1899, it was the first moon to be visited by Cassini in 2004. Its surface is covered in carbon-rich material, giving it a charcoal-like appearance. Cratered and irregular, Phoebe offers a glimpse into the kind of primordial objects that existed during the solar system’s infancy. Phoebe’s interactions with other moons and the ring system are ongoing areas of research, particularly its role in creating the vast, diffuse Phoebe Ring that stretches millions of miles around Saturn.

The Alkyonides and Norse Groups: Swarms of Moonlets

Beyond the major moons lies a chaotic cloud of smaller satellites, many of which belong to groups named after mythological traditions. The Alkyonides, Norse, Gallic, and Inuit groups consist of irregular moons with inclined, eccentric, and often retrograde orbits. These tiny bodies, often less than 10 miles across, are likely captured asteroids or fragments from collisions. The Norse group, for instance, includes dozens of moons with names from Scandinavian mythology. One of its members, Surtur, orbits over 13 million miles from Saturn—an enormous distance that emphasizes just how expansive Saturn’s gravitational influence really is. While these irregular moons are difficult to study in detail due to their small size and distant orbits, they help paint a more complete picture of the Saturnian system’s dynamism and its history of celestial capture.

Interactions with Rings and Magnetosphere

Saturn’s moons don’t exist in isolation—they’re deeply entwined with the planet’s majestic ring system and powerful magnetic field. Moons like Prometheus and Pandora act as shepherds, maintaining the F ring’s narrow structure by gravitationally sculpting its edges. Others, such as Atlas and Pan, clear gaps in the A ring and resemble flying saucers due to accumulated ring material around their equators. Still more intriguing are the feedback loops between moons and the magnetosphere. Enceladus’ plumes inject particles into Saturn’s E ring and the magnetic environment, while charged dust from other moons may affect ring composition and electrical activity. These interactions offer a rare laboratory for studying gravity, plasma physics, and celestial mechanics in real-time.

The Ongoing Search for More

Despite the staggering moon count, Saturn may still be hiding more companions. Some of its moons may be embedded within the rings, their presence betrayed only by wave patterns and subtle gravitational effects. Others could be small, distant, and awaiting detection by next-generation observatories.

Projects like the James Webb Space Telescope and future outer solar system missions may add dozens more names to Saturn’s growing list of satellites. Astronomers are also refining techniques to track faint moving objects over long timescales, making it more likely we’ll uncover new worlds orbiting this gas giant in the near future. Each discovery not only expands our moon census but also deepens our understanding of how planetary systems form, evolve, and interact over billions of years.

A Planetary Family Like No Other

Saturn is more than just a ringed planet—it’s a host to a vast and complex family of moons. From giant Titan’s methane seas to Enceladus’ icy geysers, from Mimas’ battered surface to Hyperion’s chaotic spin, each moon offers a chapter in the grand story of the solar system. With over 150 known moons and likely more to come, the Saturnian satellite system is a microcosm of celestial diversity and discovery.

These moons don’t just orbit a planet—they sculpt rings, trigger storms, and possibly harbor life. They reflect light and cast shadows, influence each other’s orbits, and help shape the very magnetic and gravitational environments they travel through. In studying them, we don’t just learn about Saturn—we learn about the origins of moons, planets, and maybe even life itself. So when you gaze at Saturn through a telescope, remember: those shimmering rings are only part of the story. Beyond them lies an empire of icy worlds, tumbling and turning in graceful, eternal dance—waiting to be explored.