What are the moons of neptune ?
Neptune is considered the eighth planet from the Sun since Pluto was demoted in 2006. Neptune has thirteen moons, including Triton, Nereid, Proteus, Galatea, Thalassa, Larissa, Naiad, Neso, Halimede, Laomedeia, Psamathe and Sao. Among these moons, Triton was the first moon to be discovered in 1854 by William Lassel, who was also responsible for discovering two moons of Uranus and a moon in Saturn. In 1949, another Neptune moon was discovered and called “Nereid”.
Just like other moons, Both Triton and Nereid are named after sea deities. This naming tradition has been inspired since the name Neptune was coined after the Roman god of the sea. It was only until 1989 that new moons was discovered when the Voyager 2 Space Probe landed in Neptune. In 2002 to 2003, the remaining five moons were discovered using ground-based telescopes.
The largest of the Neptune moons is Triton with 2,700 kilometers in diameter. It is considered the 7th largest moon in the whole galaxy. Triton and Pluto are similar in characteristics, containing 25 percent water ice and the remaining are rocky materials. Triton, which is geologically active, has the coldest surface in the galaxy.
The second-largest moon of Neptune is Proteus with 440 kilometers in diameter. Proteus, a cube-shaped with rounded edges moon, is also considered to have the darkest surface in the galaxy, receiving only 6% light.
