The Orbits of Neptune's Moons | 0:28
caltech | 219K subscribers | 2,526 views | May 20, 2026
Posted on 09/28/2026 5:06:38 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
New research suggests that Nereid, an unusual moon of Neptune, could be the sole survivor of the satellites that formed with the planet... Nearly half of its 16 known moons travel backwards around the planet. One of them is not like the others: Like a swan chick among ducklings, Triton is six times larger than the system's next-largest moon. Nearly as big as Earth's Moon, Triton has long been considered a Pluto-like world, captured in Neptune's orbit when the planet was still young. Now, research suggests that Triton's arrival -- or perhaps even the arrival of some earlier, Triton-like object -- destroyed whatever original population of moons Neptune had.
Triton isn't the only puzzle: Nereid, Neptune's third-largest moon, measures about 350 kilometers (220 miles) across and sits in an uncanny orbital valley. It's too far away from Neptune to be considered a native moon, but it's closer-in than most irregular satellites. Its orbit is both highly inclined and extremely elongated, hinting at an unusual past.,,
It has more water ice and lacks volatile organic molecules. Crucially, it also looks different from Kuiper Belt objects, which are considered the reservoir from which most of the captured irregular moons come from...
Nereid is also very different from Neptune's inner, regular moons. Those moons circle close to the planet and are small, almost like rubble piles assembled in orbit.
(Excerpt) Read more at skyandtelescope.org ...
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The Orbits of Neptune's Moons | 0:28
caltech | 219K subscribers | 2,526 views | May 20, 2026
from the FRchives, sorted:
Triton, shown here beneath a crescent Neptune in Voyager 2's parting view, may have disrupted Neptune's original moon system. Or another Triton-like object might have done so even earlier on.NASA / JPL
Maybe they’re pulled out of Uranus..........
Where’s Moe Howard when I need him?
You don’t want “highly inclined and extremely elongated” anywhere near your anus.
It’s those nasty klingons….
That’s what Neptune’s Triton is for.
TikTok video or it didn’t happen!
:^D
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