Neptune's Moons
Neptune has at least 14 moons. Of these 14 moons, only 1 is spherical in shape. That moon is Triton, which is more massive than all the other moons in the solar system smaller than it, and takes up 99.5% of the mass of all of Neptune's 14 moons.
Triton Stats
Neptunian Moons Facts
- TRITON WAS A DWARF PLANET. In fact, it was probably part of a binary dwarf planet system, quite like Pluto and Charon. When Neptune migrated farther out, its gravity catapulted Triton's partner away and captured Triton as a moon. This explains why Triton orbits Neptune in a retrograde direction, opposite of Neptune's rotation. This is unusual for such a large moon. Triton may have destroyed many of Neptune's other moons, often by pulling them into space or towards Neptune as its orbit shifted and adjusted. However, this will end one day. Triton's retrograde orbit is slowing it down, and it will stray too close to Neptune and will be destroyed and become a huge ring in 3.6 billion years.
- TRITON LOOKS LIKE A CANTALOUPE. Craters, cryovolcanoes and a rugged landscape led Triton to have a cantaloupe-like texture, shown below. 2/3 of Triton is made of rock, while 1/3 is ice (mainly water ice). This is quite similar to the composition of Pluto.
- NEPTUNE'S MOON NEREID HAS A HIGHLY ELLIPTICAL ORBIT. Nereid is the third largest moon of Neptune as has a diameter of 340 km and orbits at an average of 3 513 400 km from Neptune. When Triton became a moon of Neptune, its gravity probably affected Nereid. Nereid was lucky not to have been destroyed or flung away, but Triton's gravity influenced the orbit of Nereid and gave it a highly eccentric orbit.