Ss:Triton

Solar System Scratchpad [Boiler Plate]

Largest moon of Neptune, modestly larger than Pluto and Eris. In an irregular orbit, possibly a captured Kuiper Belt object. A capture method involving a binary moon of Triton has been proposed. Currently has a high inclination to Neptune, high axial tilt, and retrograde orbit, but tidal forces have given it a synchronous rotation and circular orbit, and it is nearer to its planet and much larger than other irregular satellites in the Solar System. Observed by Voyager 2. Found to have ice geysers and a thin but significant atmosphere.

Triton Web Pages

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triton_%28moon%29

Triton in the News

Binary Dwarf Planet Capture Theory (May 2006)

• http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/05/060511083934.htm
• http://www.space.com/2393-neptune-captured-triton.html

Voyager 20th Anniversary (Aug 2009)

• http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/features.cfm?feature=2292
• http://www.astronomynow.com/news/n0908/24voyager/

Triton Could Produce Aurora on Neptune like Enceladus and Io (Apr 2011)

See Saturn, Io, Enceladus

• http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-13131537

Photographed in the Infrared (Sep 2011)

• http://www.space.com/13086-photos-neptune-uranus-moons-infrared-images.html

Does Triton Have a Subsurface Ocean (Sep 2012)

• http://www.space.com/17470-neptune-moon-triton-subsurface-ocean.html

Feature Articles

Book on Alien Weather (May 2011)

See also Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Titan, Uranus, Neptune, Venus

• http://www.universetoday.com/85716/guest-post-drifting-on-alien-winds-exploring-the-skies-and-weather-of-other-worlds/