Resolution criteria

This market resolves to YES if, by December 31, 2026, at 11:59 PM UTC, the total count of publicly announced and confirmed natural satellites (moons) of Saturn reaches 300 or more. Otherwise, this market resolves to NO.

The primary source of resolution will be official designations published by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) Minor Planet Center (MPC) or official recognition in the planetary satellite tally tracked by NASA Science.

• A moon is considered "announced" once it has been assigned a provisional designation (e.g., S/2023 S ...) or Roman numeral designation published in an IAU/MPC Electronic Circular or listed in the MPC natural satellites database.

• Ring moonlets or informal candidate detections that have not received an official designation or MPC confirmation do not count toward the total.

Background

Saturn has experienced major surges in its moon tally due to "shift-and-stack" deep imaging surveys utilizing facilities like the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT). In March 2025, the IAU recognized 128 new irregular moons discovered by a team led by Edward Ashton, boosting Saturn's count to 274. Subsequent MPC announcements in early 2026 further elevated the tally toward the high 200s. Reaching the 300 threshold requires the formal submission, orbit calculation, and MPC publication of the remaining candidate irregular moons orbiting the planet.

This description was generated by AI. Review and verify everything here yourself. You can edit, replace, or delete any part of this description, including the resolution criteria. You do not need to trust the AI output.