Moons of Neptune

by:Jonathon Carten

Triton

Triton is the largest of Neptune's moons. 7th largest moon in the solar system. Discovered by William Lassell on October

10th,1846, 17 days after the discovery of Neptune.

Surface temperature recorded to be -235 degrees Celsius.

Estimated that in one billion years, Triton will collide with Neptune's atmosphere.

Naiad

Closest moon to Neptune. Found sometime before mid-September

1989, as this was the first record of the moon.

This moon is not a sphere.

Thalassa

Second closest moon to Neptune. Found around the same time as Naiad. Also not a sphere, like Naiad. Appears to be disk shaped.

Despina

Third closest moon to Neptune. Found in late July 1989 by Voyager 2. Not a sphere and appears to have no

geological changes.

Gelatea

Fourth closest to Neptune. Found in late July 1989. Name given on September 16th,1991. Not a sphere, with no apparent geological

change.

Larissa

Fifth closest to Neptune. Found on May 24th, 1981. Re-found and confirmed by Voyager in

1989. Not a sphere, but appears to have large

craters in it.

Proteus

Second biggest moon of Neptune. Found in 1989 by Voyager 2. More than 400 kilometers in diameter. One of the darkest objects in the solar system. Reflects only 6% of sunlight that hits it. Not a sphere.

Nereid

Found on May 1st, 1949 by Gerald Kuiper. Third largest moon, with a diameter of 340 km. Unusual orbit suggests that it may be a caught

asteroid or Kuiper Belt object. Was too far to be observed by Voyager 2.

Halimede

Found by Matthew Holman on August 14th, 2002.

Follows an inclined and eccentric orbit. About 62 kilometers in diameter. Appears Grey in visible light. Named on February 3rd, 2007.

Sao

Founded by Matthew Holman on August 14th, 2002.

Orbits at 22.4 million kilometers. Diameter of 44 kilometers. Shares many of the same characteristics as

Halimede.

Laomedeia

Founded by Matthew Holman on August 13th, 2002.

Orbits at 23,571,000 kilometers. Diameter is 42 kilometers.

Psamathe

Founded by Scott Sheppard and David Jewitt in 2003.

Takes almost 25 Earth years to orbit. Orbits at 46,695,000 kilometers. Diameter is 24 kilometers.

Neso

Farthest non-spherical moon of Neptune. Orbits at 48 million kilometers, the farthest

moon of any planet. Diameter is 60 kilometers. Mass is estimated to be 1.6x1017kilograms.

Works Cited

For works cited, please see the works cited page on the wiki.

Www.physics121neptune.wikispaces.com