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.
What are Neptune’s 3 biggest moons?
Neptune has a total of 14 known moons. The largest moon is Triton which was discovered by William Lassell just seventeen days after Neptune was found. One hundred years later the second moon, Nereid was found.
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List of moons.
| Order | 1 |
|---|---|
| Label | Neptune III |
| Name | Naiad |
| Pronunciation (key) | ˈneɪ.əd |
| Diameter (km) | 66 (96 × 60 × 52) |
What are the 4 largest moons of Neptune?
Inner (Regular) Moons:
They are, in order of distance from Neptune: Naiad (48,227 km), Thalassa (50,074 km), Despina (52,526 km), Galatea (61,953 km), Larissa (73,548 km), S/2004 N 1 (105,300 ± 50 km), and Proteus (117,646 km).
What are Neptune’s 14 moons called?
Each of the moons is named for a mythological Greek water deity. Moving from closest to Neptune to furthest out, their names are Naiad, Thalassa, Despina, Galatea, Larissa, S/2004 N1 (which has yet to receive an official name), Proteus, Triton, Nereid, Halimede, Sao, Laomedeia, Psamathe, and Neso.
What is the second largest moon on Neptune?
Regular moons
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.
What are the 13 moons of Neptune?
Neptune’s Moons – EnchantedLearning.com. Neptune has 13 moons, Triton, Nereid, Naiad, Thalassa, Despina, Larissa, Proteus, and Galatea, plus five smaller, unnamed moons. Triton and Proteus orbit close to Neptune; Nereid is in a distant orbit.
What is the name of Neptune’s smallest moon?
Neptune’s Smallest Moon Has a Name (and a Violent Past) A faint and frigid little moon doesn’t have to go by “Neptune XIV” anymore. Astronomers have given a name — “Hippocamp” — to the most recently discovered moon of Neptune, which also formerly went by S/2004 N1.
How many moons does Neptune 2020?
Uranus and Neptune
Lastly, Neptune has 14 named moons. One of Neptune’s moons, Triton, is as big as dwarf planet Pluto. To learn more about the moons in our solar system, visit the NASA Solar System Exploration moons page.
Does Neptune have any moons?
Neptune has at least 14 moons and six known narrow rings. Each of the myriad particles that constitute the rings can be considered a tiny moon in its own orbit.
How many moons does Neptune have?
Neptune has 14 known moons, named after lesser sea gods and nymphs from Greek mythology. The largest by far is Triton, whose discovery on Oct.
Why are some moons not round?
This is because a phenomenon called libration causes the moon’s viewing angle, relative to Earth, to change slightly over its orbit. Lunar libration is due to the fact that the moon’s orbit around Earth isn’t a perfect circle. … The moon looks round, but it isn’t.
Does Neptune have a nickname?
Neptune had gone through several name changes from LeVerrier’s Planet to Janus to Oceanus, and then finally Neptune in 1846. It is also called, “the watery planet”. The planet has several nicknames, including : The Blue Planet. The Last Of The Gas Giants.
How thick is Neptune’s ring?
Inner rings
It is about 2,000 km wide and orbits 41,000–43,000 km from the planet. It is a faint ring with an average normal optical depth of around 10−4, and with an equivalent depth of 0.15 km.
What planet has 27 moons?
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| Planet / Dwarf Planet | Confirmed Moons | Provisional Moons |
|---|---|---|
| Jupiter | 53 | 26 |
| Saturn | 53 | 29 |
| Uranus | 27 | |
| Neptune | 14 |
Which planet has 13 known moons?
The next planet with a high number of moons is Uranus, with 27 known moons. This is followed by Neptune with 13 moons, Mars with 2 moons, and then Earth with its single moon.
Is Pluto smaller than the moon?
Pluto is smaller than Earth’s moon. … This dwarf planet has five moons. Its largest moon is named Charon (KAIR-ən). Charon is about half the size of Pluto.