Halimede (moon) facts for kids
Halimede is a small, non-round moon that goes around the planet Neptune. It was discovered by a team of scientists led by Matthew J. Holman on August 14, 2002.
Halimede: Neptune's Far-Out Moon
Halimede has a very unusual path around Neptune. Its orbit is very tilted and not a perfect circle. You can see this in the image that shows other non-round moons of Neptune.
This moon is about 62 kilometers (38 miles) wide. It looks grey in visible light. Scientists think it might be a piece that broke off from another moon of Neptune called Nereid. This idea comes from Halimede's similar color to Nereid. Also, there's a good chance (41%) they could have crashed into each other a long time ago.
Halimede is also known as Neptune IX. Like many of Neptune's moons that are far away, it is named after one of the Nereids. The Nereids were fifty daughters of Nereus and Doris in Greek myths. Before its name was officially announced on February 3, 2007, Halimede was called S/2002 N 1.
Images for kids
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Halimede imaged by the Very Large Telescope during follow-up observations on 3 September 2002
See also
In Spanish: Halimede (satélite) para niños
