Nereid (moon)
Nereid ("NEER ee ed") is the outermost of
Neptune's known
moonss and the third largest, with a diameter of 340 km. Its
orbit averages 5,513,400 km in radius, but is highly
eccentric and varies from 1,353,600 to 9,623,700 kilometers. This is the most highly eccentric orbit of any known
planet or satellite in the
solar system. This unusual orbit suggests that it may be a captured
asteroid or
Kuiper belt object, or possibly that it was perturbed during the capture of Neptune's largest moon
Triton. Very little else is known of Nereid.
Nereid was discovered in 1949 by Gerard Kuiper. It is named after the Nereids, sea-nymphs of Greek mythology.
- Orbital radius: 5,513,400 km
- Apogee: 9,623,700 km
- Perigee: 1,353,600 km
- Diameter: 340 km
- Mass: Unknown
- Orbital period: 360.1362 days
- Orbital inclination: 27.6°
- Rotation period: 11.52 hours