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Naiad, the closest regular moon, is also the second smallest among the inner moons (following the discovery of Hippocamp), whereas Proteus is the largest regular moon and the second largest moon of Neptune. The first five moons orbit much faster than Neptune's rotation itself ranging from 7 hours for Naiad and Thalassa, to 13 hours for Larissa.
Neptune is the planet in the solar system that is farthest from the Sun; it has 14 known moons. The largest by far is Triton, which is nearly the size of Earth’s Moon. Triton is the only large moon of the solar system that travels around its planet in retrograde fashion; that is, it orbits Neptune in the opposite direction of the planet’s ...
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Triton dominates the Neptunian moon system, with over 99.5% of its total mass. This imbalance may reflect the elimination of many of Neptune's original satellites following Triton's capture. [4][5] Triton (lower left) compared to the Moon (upper left) and Earth (right), to scale. Triton is the seventh-largest moon and sixteenth-largest object ...
- Discovery
- Overview
- How Triton Got Its Name
Triton was discovered on Oct. 10, 1846 by British astronomer William Lassell, just 17 days after Neptune itself was discovered.
Triton is the largest of Neptune's 13 moons. It is unusual because it is the only large moon in our solar system that orbits in the opposite direction of its planet's rotation―a retrograde orbit. Scientists think Triton is a Kuiper Belt Object captured by Neptune's gravity millions of years ago. It shares many similarities with Pluto, the best know...
Triton is named after the son of Poseidon (the Greek god comparable to the Roman Neptune). Until the discovery of the second moon Nereid in 1949, Triton was commonly known as simply "the satellite of Neptune."
Overview. Triton is the largest of Neptune's 13 moons. It is unusual because it is the only large moon in our solar system that orbits in the opposite direction of its planet's rotation―a retrograde orbit. Scientists think Triton is a Kuiper Belt Object captured by Neptune's gravity millions of years ago. It shares many similarities with ...
Triton is Neptune’s largest moon and is the only large moon in the solar system to orbit in the opposite direction to its planet’s rotation, this is known as a retrograde orbit. Triton Diagrams Triton size compared to the Moon and Earth
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Oct 4, 2024 · Triton, largest of Neptune’s moons, whose unusual orbital characteristics suggest that it formed elsewhere in the solar system and was later captured by Neptune. Triton is unique among the large moons of the solar system in that it moves in a retrograde orbit—i.e., opposite the direction of Neptune’s rotation.
