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Neptune has 16 known moons. 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.
Neptune has 16 known moons. Neptune's largest moon Triton was discovered on Oct. 10, 1846, by William Lassell, just 17 days after Johann Gottfried Galle discovered the planet. Since Neptune was named for the Roman god of the sea, its moons are named for various lesser sea gods and nymphs in Greek mythology.
Neptune has 16 known moons, including the largest moon, Triton, which was spotted Oct. 10, 1846 – just 17 days after Neptune was discovered.
Neptune has 16 known moons. English merchant and astronomer William Lassell discovered the first and largest of Neptune's moon – Triton – on Oct. 10, 1846, just 17 days after a Berlin observatory discovered Neptune.
Triton is the largest of Neptune's 13 moons. It is unusual because it is the only large moon in our solar system that orbits in the opposite direction of its planet's rotation―a retrograde orbit. Scientists think Triton is a Kuiper Belt Object captured by Neptune's gravity millions of years ago.
According to the NASA/JPL Solar System Dynamics team, the current tally of moons orbiting planets in our solar system is 293: One moon for Earth; two for Mars; 95 at Jupiter; 146 at Saturn; 28 at Uranus; 16 at Neptune; and five for dwarf planet Pluto.
2002: Using improved observing techniques, astronomers discover four new moons orbiting Neptune: Laomedia, Neso, Sao and Halimede. 2003: Another moon, Psamathe, is discovered using ground-based telescopes.
In the outer solar system, the gas giants Jupiter and Saturn and the ice giants Uranus and Neptune have dozens of moons. As these planets grew in the early solar system, they were able to capture smaller objects with their large gravitational fields.
Mars has two moons, Phobos and Deimos. Both are thought to be captured asteroids, or debris from early in the formation of our solar system. Phobos is the larger of Mars' two moons. It orbits Mars three times a day, and is so close to the planet's surface that in some locations on Mars it cannot always be seen.
Jupiter has 95 moons that have been officially recognized by the International Astronomical Union. But the number doesn't capture the complexity of the Jovian system of moons, rings and asteroids. The giant planet has thousands of small objects in its orbit.