This is an image of Triton, Neptune's largest moon. The image was taken by the Voyager 2 spacecraft in August 1989.
Click on image for full size
NASA
Neptune's Moons and Rings
Neptune has
moons. As is the case with all of the gas giant planets in our Solar System, it also has a series of rings.
Neptune's ring system is very different from the ring system found at Saturn. Neptune's rings are much darker than Saturn's bright rings. Saturn's rings are mostly composed of ice, whereas Neptune's appear to be made of small rocks and dust.
Neptune has one very large moon named Triton.
Triton is one of the coldest places in the Solar System. However, Triton appears to be geologically active. It has active geysers, similar to those found at Yellowstone Park on Earth, but Triton's geysers spew out ice instead of steam. Triton may also have a water environment like that of Earth's north pole.
This liquid environment might be suitable for the existence of life.
This icy moon has a very thin atmosphere and
an interior which may be active.
The rest of Neptune's moons are much smaller than Triton. Nereid was
discovered by Gerard Kuiper in 1949.
Despina, Galatea, Larissa, Naiad, Proteus and Thalassa were discovered by
the Voyager 2 spacecraft in 1989.
Five more small moons have been discovered
recently; three in 2002 and two
more in 2003. The most recently discovered moons don't yet have official
names.
The Moons of Neptune
Ordered by Size
|
| Name |
Size
(diameter or dimensions)
|
| Triton |
2,706.8 km
|
| Proteus |
220 x 208 x 202 km
|
| Nereid |
340 km
|
| Larissa |
108 x 102 x 84 km
|
| Galatea |
102 x 92 x 72 km
|
| Despina |
90 x 74 x 64 km
|
| Thalassa |
54 x 50 x 26 km
|
| Naiad |
48 x 30 x 26 km
|
| S/2002 N4 |
60 km
|
| S/2002 N1 |
48 km
|
| S/2002 N2 |
48 km
|
| S/2002 N3 |
48 km
|
| S/2003 N1 |
28 km
|
|
� |
Ordered by
Distance from Neptune
|
| Name |
Average Distance
from Neptune's center
|
| Naiad |
48,227 km
|
| Thalassa |
50,075 km
|
| Despina |
52,526 km
|
| Galatea |
61,953 km
|
| Larissa |
73,548 km
|
| Proteus |
117,647 km
|
| Triton |
354,760 km
|
| Nereid |
5,513,400 km
|
| S/2002 N1 |
15,686,000 km
|
| S/2002 N2 |
22,452,000 km
|
| S/2002 N3 |
22,580,000 km
|
| S/2002 N4 |
46,570,000 km
|
| S/2003 N1 |
46,738,000 km
|
|
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