Celestial Objects
Triton
Moon of Neptune
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Triton is Neptune's largest moon and the only large moon in the solar system that orbits in the opposite direction of its planet's rotation, a retrograde orbit that points to it being a captured Kuiper Belt object; it is also one of the few moons known to be volcanically active today.
Facts
Diameter (km) Discovery Year Cross-Tradition Connections
Sources
1. NASA Solar System Exploration
National Aeronautics and Space Administrationscience.nasa.gov, Neptune Moons: TritonQuote, science.nasa.gov, Neptune Moons: Triton
Triton, Io and Venus are the only bodies in the solar system besides Earth that are known to be volcanically active at the present time.
1. NASA Solar System Exploration
National Aeronautics and Space Administrationscience.nasa.gov, Neptune Moons overviewQuote, science.nasa.gov, Neptune Moons overview
English merchant and astronomer William Lassell discovered the first and largest moon, Triton, on Oct. 10, 1846, just 17 days after a Berlin observatory discovered Neptune.
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