The original images were processed by removing stray light from near the edge of Saturn's ring, which was minimal, since the observations were made during a ring-crossing event in 1995, when the rings virtually disappeared from view (see Figure 12.1). After accounting for the positions of all of Saturn's known moons, the field of view still displayed four blobs of light, in addition to the body of Saturn itself. The accompanying four-picture sequence spans 30 minutes of observing time and shows how astronomers might have been fooled into thinking they had made a discovery. Saturn itself appears as a bright white disk at the far right, heavily overexposed in the search for faint new moons; its edge-on rings extend diagonally to the upper left and are barely discernible. What remains is one known moon—Epimetheus, the brightest small blob at left—and several other fainter blobs. The blobs in these images formed the basis for the claims of new moons in the Saturn system.

Subsequent observations by another team of astronomers failed to confirm some of the faint blobs of light in these images but reported some new blobs. What is going on here? It seems that if the blobs are indeed real, then they are probably just clouds of ice and dust orbiting near

In any case, most astronomers are now of the opinion that these faint blobs, even if real, do not represent new moons around Saturn. For now, the number of moons officially orbiting Saturn remains the 18 noted in the text.