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Neptune's Moons
Neptune has 14 moons, many of which are very small. The biggest is Triton, which is roughly the size of Pluto. The other 13 moons are irregularly shaped and greatly vary in size. They all derive their names from aquatic gods and nymphs featured in Greek Mythology.
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Triton
As Neptune's largest moon, Triton is also the 7th largest moon in the solar system. It is one of the few moons in the solar system that revolves opposite its planet's rotation, and similar to Earths moon, it is stuck in synchronous rotation with Neptune. It was named after the son of Poseidon. Scientists believe that Triton is a Kuiper Belt object that was captured by Neptune's gravity very long ago. The moon has a nitrogen-based ice surface just like Pluto, and because of its thin atmosphere, the surface temperature was measured by Voyager 2 at -235 degrees celsius.
Hippocamp
Hippocamp
The 14th moon of Neptune was accidentally found while studying the rings of Neptune. Originally called S/2004 N 1, it was discovered using pictures taken by the bubble telescope between 2004 and 2009. S/2004 N 1's name was changed to Hippocamp in February 2019. Hippocamp is only about 20 miles across and is believed to be a chip off of proteus when it collided with a comet.
Neptune's Rings
Royal Society Publishing
Neptune has at least 6 major rings and 4 ring arcs, most of which were named after astronomers associated with the discovery of the planet and moons. Formed due to the conflicting forces of the planet and the moon's gravity, the rings are mostly made of small clumps of dust. They are thought to be relatively young, as they are still quite unstable.
The five main rings, starting from the inside, are named Galle, Le Verrier, Lassell, Arago, and Adams
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