Neptune’s mysterious moon Nereid may be an original, study shows
Summary
Scientists studied Neptune’s moon Nereid using NASA’s Webb Space Telescope and found it may be one of Neptune’s original moons. Nereid likely survived the arrival of Neptune’s big moon Triton, which disrupted many other moons, by moving into its strange, stretched-out orbit.Key Facts
- Neptune has 16 known moons orbiting the planet.
- Triton is Neptune’s largest moon and arrived from far away, disturbing many original moons.
- Nereid was discovered 40 years before Voyager 2 visited Neptune in 1989.
- Nereid is about 220 miles (350 kilometers) wide.
- Its orbit is very stretched, taking almost one Earth year to circle Neptune.
- Scientists found Nereid’s surface has more ice than moons that came from the Kuiper Belt, showing it likely formed near Neptune.
- The findings suggest many of Neptune’s inner moons are leftovers from the original moons broken apart by Triton.
- More space missions could help confirm Neptune’s moon history, but none are planned now.
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