Moons of Neptune

Moons Of Neptune

Neptune has thirteen known moons, by far the largest of which is Triton, discovered by William Lassell on October 10, 1846, just 17 days after the discovery of Neptune itself. Over a century passed before the discovery of the second natural satellite, called Nereid. Neptune's moons are named for minor water deities in Greek mythology.

Unique among moons of planetary mass, Triton is an irregular satellite, as its orbit is retrograde to Neptune's rotation and inclined relative to the planet's equator. The next-largest irregular satellite in the Solar System, Saturn's moon Phoebe, is only 0.03% Triton's mass. Triton is massive enough to have achieved hydrostatic equilibrium and to retain a thin atmosphere capable of forming clouds and hazes. Both its atmosphere and its surface are composed mainly of nitrogen with small amounts of methane and carbon monoxide. Triton's surface appears relatively young, and was probably modified by internally driven processes within the last few million years. The temperature at its surface is about 38 K (−235.2 °C).

Inward of Triton are six regular satellites, all of which have prograde orbits in planes that lie close to Neptune's equatorial plane. Some of these orbit among Neptune's rings. The largest of them is Proteus.

Neptune also has six outer irregular satellites, including Nereid, whose orbits are much farther from Neptune, have high inclinations, and are mixed between prograde and retrograde. The two outermost ones, Psamathe and Neso, have the largest orbits of any natural satellites discovered in the Solar System to date.