In classical mythology, the titan Cronus, who was reinterpreted by the Romans as Saturn, devoured his newborn children to prevent a prophesied coup. (He did not succeed, and Zeus became the king of the gods.)

In planetary science, a similar scenario emerges when scientists recreate the evolution of large planets like Saturn, which has a satellite system dominated by one massive moon, Titan. Typically those simulated planets either eat their orbital retinue, or multiple sizable moons survive into adulthood, like the four Galilean moons of Jupiter.

How, then, did Saturn end up with massive Titan and a multitude of tinier moons? Using a set of simulations detailed Monday in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics, a team of planetary scientists identified an explanation for how a moon like Titan could have avoided straying too close to its murderous parent.

“Titan is one of the largest moons in our solar system,” said Yuri Fujii of Nagoya University and lead author of the new study. “I would like to reveal its origin.”