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An annotated picture of Neptune's many moons as captured by the James Webb Space Telescope. The bright blue diffraction star is Triton, Neptune's largest moon. Neptune has 16 known moons. [155] Triton is the largest Neptunian moon, accounting for more than 99.5% of the mass in orbit around Neptune, [i] and is the only one massive enough to be ...
Naiad, the closest regular moon, is also the second smallest among the inner moons (following the discovery of Hippocamp), whereas Proteus is the largest regular moon and the second largest moon of Neptune. The first five moons orbit much faster than Neptune's rotation itself ranging from 7 hours for Naiad and Thalassa, to 13 hours for Larissa.
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Triton, the largest moon of the ice giant planet Neptune, is hypothesized to have been captured from heliocentric orbit. Triton is unusual as it is the only known large moon on a retrograde , highly- inclined orbit; that is, Triton orbits in the opposite direction Neptune rotates, and its orbit is not aligned with Neptune's equatorial plane.
The planet's 164-year orbit takes it through some of the darkest and most remote regions of the outer solar system. Neptune is considered an "ice giant" because of its internal chemical composition.
The geology of Triton encompasses the physical characteristics of the surface, internal structure, and geological history of Neptune's largest moon Triton. With a mean density of 2.061 g/cm 3, [1] Triton is roughly 15-35% water ice by mass; Triton is a differentiated body, with an icy solid crust atop a probable subsurface ocean and a rocky core.
Triton is the largest natural satellite of the planet Neptune. It is the only moon of Neptune massive enough to be rounded under its own gravity and hosts a thin, hazy atmosphere. Triton orbits Neptune in a retrograde orbit—revolving in the opposite direction to the parent planet's rotation—the only large moon in the Solar System to do so.
Neptune's rings had been observed from Earth many years prior to Voyager 2 's visit, but the close inspection revealed that the ring systems were full circle and intact, and a total of four rings were counted. [4] Voyager 2 discovered six new small moons orbiting Neptune's equatorial plane, dubbed Naiad, Thalassa, Despina, Galatea, Larissa and ...