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Nereid
Nereid
Neptune II
Nereid ( "NEER ee ed" ) is the outermost of
Neptune's known satellites and the third largest:
orbit: 5,513,400 km distance from Neptune
diameter: 340 km
mass: ?
Nereid
is any one of the sea nymphs, the 50 daughters of Nereus and Doris.
Discovered in 1949 by Kuiper.
Nereid's orbit is the most highly
eccentric of any planet or
satellite in the solar system; its distance from Neptune
varies from 1,353,600 to 9,623,700 kilometers.
Nereid's odd orbit indicates that it may be a captured
asteroid or
Kuiper Belt object.
More about Nereid
Open Issues
- We know next to nothing about Nereid.
- How did it come to be in such an odd orbit?
... Neptune
... Triton
... Nereid
... Pluto
...
1995 May 6
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