If a list of all the weird astronomical phenomena were made, the moon of Neptune would definitely make it to that list!The planet Neptune has a system of over eight moons surrounding it. While the other moons are much smaller in diameter, Triton is of considerable size, and it has been fascinating to researchers with its intriguing features.Triton is Neptune’s largest moon and the seventh-largest moon in the Solar System. Astronomers named the moon Triton after a merman in Greek mythology who was the son of Poseidon (Neptune in Roman mythology) and Amphitrite, the god and goddess of the sea. Greek god Triton is shown to have the body of a man with the tail of a fish carrying the trident of Poseidon in one hand.Neptune’s moon Triton’s is one of the largest moons to have a retrograde orbit. Moving in retrograde implies that that the direction of Triton’s orbit is opposite to Neptune’s rotation. Triton is the only large moon to move opposite to the planet’s rotation. Human beings cannot live on this moon due to the cold and the magnetosphere. A person weighing 110 lb (50 kg) on Earth could weigh around 8.6 lb (3.9 kg) on Triton.Once you have finished reading this article, why not check out interesting facts about Nix (moon) or the Miranda moon here at Kidadl!Triton Moon DiscoveryEnglish astronomer William Lassell introduced Triton to everyone. It was discovered on October 10, 1846, and was the first moon of Neptune to be discovered. The discovery was made visually through an Earth-based telescope.Little was known about this weird Neptunian moon until the Voyager 2 mission. US Voyager 2 probe reached nearly 24854.8 mi (40,000 km) away from the planet in 1989. Until then, only surface-level analysis of Triton had been done, which turned out to be entirely inaccurate compared to the data obtained from the Voyager 2 probe. According to the probe, the diameter of moon Triton is nearly the same as Earth’s Moon.The US Voyager 2 probe is the only spacecraft and by far the only mission undertaken by NASA to study this planet and its moons. In NASA’s paper ‘The NASA Roadmap to Ocean Worlds,’ Triton was considered a priority candidate for an ocean world.Triton Moon CompositionThe Neptunian moon’s surface is liquid nitrogen and methane ice with traces of carbon dioxide ice. The surface of Triton is highly reflective and icy, unlike Earth’s Moon, which is devoid of water and other volatile compounds (except the traces of water ice found at the poles). Some researchers suggest that it might be having a subsurface sea holding liquid water.During the Voyager 2 flyby, it was observed that the majority of Triton’s Southern Hemisphere is covered by an ice cap which was most likely deposited the previous winter. This ice cap was majorly composed of nitrogen ice.Triton has a relatively low density due to it mostly being an icy gas giant. The Voyager 2 flyby noted dark streaks within the polar cap region, indicating surface winds. The surface winds are likely a result of active geysers and surface volcanoes which appear like dark plumes over Triton’s surface.Despite the low surface temperature of Triton, evidence suggests the sublimation of frozen nitrogen to nitrogen gas. This has created a tenuous atmosphere on Neptune with very low near-surface pressure.Triton Moon Features: Size, Orbital Period, And TemperatureThe diameter of Neptune’s moon Triton is about 1681 mi (2,706 km) across, nearly the same size as that of Earth’s Moon. Triton is by far the seventh-largest moon in the Solar System. It is one of the natural satellites in the Neptune system.Triton is the only one amongst large moons in the entire Solar System with a retrograde orbit. This moon rotates in the opposite direction of Neptune’s rotation. Triton’s rotation seems to be tidally locked with that of Neptune so that they are synchronous. As a result, one face of Triton faces Neptune at all times.Triton has an orbital period of 141 hours or roughly 5.8 Earth days. Over time, Triton’s orbit has become a nearly perfect circle with almost zero eccentricity. It is predicted that over time, in roughly 3.6 billion years, tidal interactions will cause the orbit of Triton to decay further. There are only two possible outcomes of this situation. Triton will either eventually collapse into Neptune or break into fragments and form a ring system like Saturn.The Voyager 2 probe recorded that the surface temperature of Triton, making it the coldest celestial body in the entire Solar System. This considerably low-temperature results in polar cap formation and icy bodies.Triton Moon’s Distance From EarthIt will take almost 12 years to reach the Triton moon’s surface from Earth, provided we cover a distance of 2.69 billion mi (4.34 billion km) at the speed of the Voyager 2 probe. Fortunately, it is doubtful any human will ever go there in person. Being inside the magnetic pull of Neptune, sustenance of life on Triton is highly improbable.What makes it weird is that a moon can’t have a retrograde orbit if it was formed in the same region as the planet it orbits. This implies that Triton originated from somewhere else. It is believed that Triton is, in fact, a captured Kuiper belt object and must have originated from there. Triton’s initial orbit around the Sun must have experienced a drastic change, resulting in it being stuck in Neptune’s gravity.This moon is one of the few moons in our Solar System, demanding further research. The Voyager 2 probe is the only official NASA mission to study this Neptunian moon. It is only a matter of time that we get to know more about Neptune’s weird yet stunning moon.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created many interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for ‘Triton moon: impressive facts about Neptune’s largest satellite,’ then why not take a look at ‘Where do beans come from? Amazing grainy facts for kids,’ or ‘Where do boogers come from? Basic human body facts for kids?’
If a list of all the weird astronomical phenomena were made, the moon of Neptune would definitely make it to that list!
