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Neptune: Moons and Rings


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Moons

     The same year Neptune was spotted, William Lassal, an amateur English astronomer, discovered Titian, its largest moon. It was more than a century until Gerald Kupier discovered a second moon, Nereid, in 1949. And it was not Proteus.gif - 1107 Bytesuntil forty subsequent years that Voyager 2 passed by, observing six new satellites. In all, Neptune has eight moons, seven small ones and Triton, a decently sized one. In order from the planet, nearest to farthest, they are: Naiad, Thalassa, Despina, Galatea, Larissa, Proteus, Triton, and Nereid.

Name Distance (km) Radius (km) Mass (kg) Discoverer (Date)
Despina 53,000 74 Unknown Voyager 2 (1989)
Galatea 62,000 79 Unknown Voyager 2 (1989)
Larissa 74,000 96 Unknown Voyager 2 (1989)
Naiad 48,000 29 Unknown Voyager 2 (1989)
Nereid 5,509,000 170 Unknown Kuiper (1949)
Proteus 118,000 209 Unknown Voyager 2 (1989)
Thalassa 50,000 40 Unknown Voyager 2 (1989)
Triton 355,000 1,350 21,400 Quadrillion (1015) Lassell (1846)


Rings

     Voyager 2 discovered Neptune’s rings. Prior to that they were believed to be incomplete arcs. These rings, composed of an unknown substance, are dark. They have been named. From outwards in, they are Adams, then an unnamed ring co-orbital with Galatea, then Leverrier, and finally Galle.

Copyright © 2000 by Gary Chan and Matthew McDermott. All rights reserved.