A recent smash-up among Saturn’s moons?

Why the Norse group may hint at a catastrophic collision.

Published 2026-10-23

Surtur is one of Saturn’s many small retrograde moons.^[2]

Not one family

The Norse group is unlikely to share a single collisional origin; its orbits are widely dispersed, and it more probably consists of several dynamical clusters.^[4]

Lots of small moons

The group is dominated by small moons, which could indicate a recent catastrophic collision within the population.^[4]

Huge numbers

As of April 2026 it has 210 known members.^[4]

Numbered citations link to the sources list on the Surtur overview page.