2 More Moons Found Around Saturn, Raising Total to 24

Astronomers have discovered two more moons around Saturn to go with four announced last month. That brings the total number of Saturn’s moons to 24, making it the planet in the solar system with the most known satellites. Before the new discoveries, Uranus held the record, with 21 known satellites.

The six moons were discovered by a team working at the European Southern Observatory at La Silla, Chile. Further information is available at https://www.eso.org/outreach/press-rel/pr-2000/phot-29-00.html

A separate team working at La Silla and at the Keck Telescope in Hawaii has discovered what appears to be a brown dwarf only 13 light years from Earth. The dim object is less than a tenth the size of our sun, with a mass between 60 and 90 times that of Jupiter. Further information is available at the ESO Web site.

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--Compiled by Times medical writer Thomas H. Maugh II