Neptune's tiny moons tell the story of Triton's destructive capture
Neptune's moon and ring system stand out among the giant planets because of the strange imbalance between its one very large moon and its many tiny moons.
Neptune's moon and ring system stand out among the giant planets because of the strange imbalance between its one very large moon and its many tiny moons.
The short version
- Its largest moon, Triton, makes up more than 99% of the mass of all satellites orbiting the planet while orbiting retrograde compared with Neptune's rotation.
- The predominant theory is that Triton is a captured Kuiper Belt object that caused a major disruption in Neptune's early moon system.
- Now, a new study published in Science Advances provides spectroscopic evidence to support this theory.
What happened
This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . The team says no similar feature has ever been detected on any outer solar system bodies beyond Jupiter.
Why it matters
The finding is odd because these magnesium-rich phyllosilicates indicate extensive alteration caused by liquid water.
Summary by Nerd News Network. Read the full article at Phys.org via the links above and below.