This is a picture of Triton, Neptune's largest moon. The picture 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. 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 the planet's other moons. Triton is a very cold
place, so the moon is covered
with ice. Even though Triton is cold there is a lot going on there. It has
geysers like the ones at Yellowstone Park on Earth. The geysers shoot
ice 8 km (5 miles) high into Triton's thin atmosphere!
There may be water under the ice at Triton. It is even possible that there
might be life in that water. The
interior of Triton is probably geologically 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 found by
the Voyager 2 spacecraft in 1989.
Five more small moons have been found
recently. Three of those were
discovered in 2002 and 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.
The Moons of Neptune
Listed by Size
(Largest to Smallest)
|
| 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
|
|
|
In Order of
Distance from Neptune
|
| Name |
Average Distance
from the Center of Neptune
|
| 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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