None of these new moons are notable in isolation. But each is a piece taken from several now-broken jigsaws: some of the original moons of Saturn.
單獨來看,這些新衛星都不引人注目。但它們每一個都來自如今已支離破碎的“拼圖”--土星原有的一些原始衛星。
Certain irregular Saturnian moons are grouped into clusters, each named after their largest member. "Phoebe is like the lucky grandfather," says Gladman.
土星的某些不規則衛星被歸為不同群組,每個群組以其最大成員命名。“Phoebe就像幸運的祖父,”格萊德曼說道。
This heavily cratered moon has been impacted a lot, but it has nevertheless survived for several billion years.
這顆布滿隕石坑的衛星曾遭受過多次撞擊,但它仍存活了數十億年之久。
Today, it's surrounded by its own cluster of smaller moons created by those older thwacks.
如今,它被自身群組中的小衛星環繞--這些衛星源自更古老的撞擊碎片。
The Mundilfari cluster tells a different tale.
而“蒙迪爾法里群”的故事截然不同。
It features such a high number of small moons that it cannot have ancient origins; many of these moons would have crashed into one other and vaporized themselves soon after they had formed.
該群組包含數量異常多的小衛星,表明其起源不可能太古老,形成時間久遠,許多衛星早已相互碰撞并蒸發殆盡。

"We think this is a relatively recent collision," says Gladman -- the demolition of a larger moon sometime in the past 100 million years, practically last month by astronomic standards.
“我們認為這是一次相對近期的碰撞,”格萊德曼解釋道,即在過去一億年間,一顆較大的衛星被摧毀,而按天文標準,這幾乎就是“上個月”的事。
Saturn's profusion of satellites also has implications for Jupiter.
土星衛星的繁盛也引發了對木星的思考。
"Everyone agrees that Jupiter should have more moons," says Lawler.
“大家一致認為木星應該擁有更多衛星,”勞勒表示。
But the gas giant's proximity to Earth and expansive gravitational field can keep moons on the very edge of astronomers' scopes, so its irregular satellites can be harder to spot.
但這顆氣態巨行星距離地球較近,且引力場范圍極廣,導致其衛星往往處于天文望遠鏡觀測邊緣,不規則衛星更難被發現。
Unlike Saturn, Jupiter lacks a youthful-looking moon cluster, Gladman notes.
格拉德曼指出,與土星不同,木星缺乏年輕態的衛星群組。
That suggests Jupiter hasn't had a recent moon-on-moon collision, one that could have made a bevy of new, tiny satellites.
這表明木星近期未發生過衛星碰撞事件,而此類碰撞本可催生大量新微型衛星。
It also doesn't look like any of Jupiter's larger moons are going to crash into one another for the foreseeable future, which will leave Saturn the moon-collecting champion for a very long time to come.
在可預見的未來,木星的大型衛星似乎也不會彼此相撞,因此土星將在極長時期內穩居“衛星收集冠軍”的寶座。
"I don't think Jupiter's ever going to catch it up," says Gladman.
“我認為木星永遠趕不上土星了,”格萊德曼說道。