Embedded Files
You've Discovered the Bullis School Solar System! This website accompanies physical markers found on Bullis' campus. Click here to learn more!
Nasa
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.
Nasa
Wikimedia
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 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 is believed to have once also been a dwarf planet.
Neptune's Rings
Royal Society Publishing
Neptune has at least 5 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 moons' 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
Page updated
Report abuse