Triton: Neptune’s Captured Moon

  1. Triton is Neptune’s largest moon and the seventh-largest moon in the solar system.
  2. It orbits Neptune in a retrograde direction, opposite the planet’s rotation.
  3. This unusual orbit suggests Triton was captured from the Kuiper Belt.
  4. Triton has a very cold surface, averaging around –391°F (–235°C).
  5. Despite the cold, it has active geysers that shoot nitrogen gas into space.
  6. Its thin atmosphere is mostly nitrogen with a trace of methane.
  7. The surface is a mix of frozen nitrogen, water ice, and carbon dioxide ice.
  8. Voyager 2 revealed strange “cantaloupe terrain” unique to Triton’s icy crust.
  9. Triton may have a subsurface ocean beneath its frozen exterior.
  10. Scientists think Triton could eventually spiral inward and break apart, forming rings around Neptune.