This is a picture of Triton. Triton is Neptune's largest moon. The picture was taken by the Voyager 2 spacecraft.
Click on image for full size
NASA
Neptune's Moons and Rings
Neptune has
moons. It also has rings, but its rings are different from Saturn's.
Neptune's largest moon is named Triton.
Triton is much larger than any of Neptune's other moons. Triton is a very
cold place, so the moon is covered with ice. Triton has geysers like the ones
at Yellowstone Park on Earth. The geysers on Triton shoot out ice instead of
steam. The geysers shoot ice 8 km (5 miles) high into Triton's thin atmosphere!
The rest of Neptune's moons are much smaller than Triton. Gerard
Kuiper discovered a moon named Nereid in 1949. Other moons named Despina, Galatea, Larissa, Naiad, Proteus and Thalassa
were found by the Voyager 2 spacecraft in 1989.
Five more small moons have been found. Three
of those were discovered in 2002. Two
more were found in 2003. The newest moons don't have official names yet.
Neptune's rings are much darker than Saturn's
bright rings. Saturn's rings are made of ice, which reflects lots of
light. Neptune's rings are probably made of rocks and dust. Rocks and dust
don't reflect as much light.
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