Saturn gives birth

[J. St.C. Patrick]

to a moon.

Named Peggy.

Details - BBC News

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-27056698

Scientists say they have discovered what could be the birth of a new moon in the rings of Saturn.

Informally named Peggy, the object would become the 63rd moon in Saturn's orbit if confirmed.

The evidence comes from a black-and-white image of the outermost ring captured by the Cassini spacecraft.

"Witnessing the birth of a tiny moon is an exciting, unexpected event," said Linda Spilker of Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).

Scientists noticed a bump or distortion on the edge of the ring which they believe indicates the presence of some kind of object.

It is estimated that Peggy may be about half a mile in diameter and it is almost certainly made of ice.

[Neko-]

Half a mile in diameter... and that's called a moon already? Figured the standard for the name 'moon' were higher.

http://space.about.com/od/solarsystem/a ... A-Moon.htm

Definition of a Moon

There is actually no strict definition of what a moon is, but there are some commonalities between those objects considered moons, also called satellites. They all are:

•Distinct, whole objects
•Solid objects
•In orbit around a more massive body (that presumably orbits a star)

But moons also come in all shapes in sizes. We tend to think of objects like our Moon that are large and round, but moons like Phobos and Deimos (the Moons of Mars) look more like small irregularly shaped asteroids.

This can cause confusion, especially with no lower mass limit, as to what is a moon and what is merely a grain of mass that is gravitationally bound by a planet's gravity. Also, the rings of the outer planets are not solid, but rather are composed of tiny bits of rock and ice. So should these tiny objects be considered moons as well?

Currently, these objects are considered solely part of the rings of the planet, and not individual moons. Though the official definition itself is a bit fuzzy, lending to it being more of an "understood" definition than an official statement about the nature of objects in a planet's rings.