Vital Statistics for Neptune’s Inner Satellites

Inner Satellites of Neptune

Name Semimajor Axis (km) Period (days) Eccentricity Inclination (deg) Mean Diameter (km) Mass (10^20 kg) Associated Ring Footnotes Comments
Naiad 48,228 0.29 0.00014 4.728 66     2,3 In orbital resonance with Thalassa
Thalassa 50,075 0.31 0.00019 0.168 80     2,3 In orbital resonance with Naiad.
Despina 52,526 0.33 0.00027 0.039 148   Le Verrier 2,3  
Galatea 61,853 0.43 0.00020 0.01 158   Adams, Unnamed 2,3 Shepherd moon for the Adams Ring
Larissa 73,548 0.55 0.00121 0.214 192     2,3  
Hippocamp 105,283 0.95 0.00001 0.002 34     2 Discovered in 2013.
Proteus 117,647 1.12 0.00047 0.042 416     2,3  
Triton 354,759 5.876854 0.00001 156.865 2700 214   2,4,5 Largest of Neptune’s moons. Retrograde orbit.
Nereid 5,513,818 360.134114 0.75074 7.0903 ~340     4,6  

The table of Neptune’s rings can be found here.

Sources

  1. Murray, C.D., and S.F. Dermott 1999. Solar System Dynamics, Cambridge University Press. DOI:10.1017/CBO9781139174817

  2. Brozovic, M., et al. 2020. Orbits and resonances of the regular moons of Neptune. Icarus 338, 113462. DOI:10.1016/j.icarus.2019.113462

  3. Karkoschka, E. 2003. Sizes, shapes, and albedos of the inner satellites of Neptune. Icarus 162, 400-407. DOI:10.1016/S0019-1035(03)00002-2

  4. Jacobson, R.A. 2009. The orbits of the Neptunian satellites and the orientation of the pole of Neptune. The Astronomical Journal 137, 4322-4329. DOI:10.1088/0004-6256/137/5/4322

  5. Thomas, P. C. 2000. The shape of Triton from limb profiles. Icarus 148, 587-588. DOI: 10.1006/icar.2000.6511

  6. Thomas, P., J. Veverka, and P. Helfenstein 1991. Voyager observations of Nereid. Journal of Geophysical Research 96, 19253-19259. DOI:10.1029/91JA01735

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