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List of Neptune's moons facts for kids

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Orbits of inner moons of Neptune including S 2004 N 1
This diagram shows the paths of Neptune's inner moons, including Triton. You can see their names and which way they orbit.

Neptune, the eighth planet from the Sun, has a family of moons orbiting it. These moons are listed here based on how long it takes them to complete one trip around Neptune, from the fastest to the slowest. Some of these moons are called "irregular" because they were likely captured by Neptune's gravity a long time ago, rather than forming with the planet. Their paths can change a bit over time due to the pull of Neptune and the Sun.

The biggest and most famous of Neptune's moons is Triton. It's the only moon massive enough to have pulled itself into a round, ball-like shape. The other moons are much smaller and have irregular shapes.

Key to Moon Groups
 
Inner moons (close to Neptune)		 ♠
Major moons (like Triton)		 †
Nereid (a unique irregular moon)		 ‡
Halimede (another unique irregular moon)		 ♦
Sao group (irregular moons orbiting in one direction)		 ♥
Neso group (irregular moons orbiting in the opposite direction)


Neptune's Moons
Number
 Name Image Diameter
(km)		 Distance from Neptune
(km)		 Orbital Period
(days)		 Orbital Tilt
(degrees)		 Discovery
Year		 Discoverer Group
III Naiad
A smeared white object elongated from the bottom-left to top-right can be seen in the center.
 60.4 48224 +0.2944 4.691 1989 Voyager Science Team inner
IV Thalassa
A group of three objects, each circled and labeled by the respective designations. Thalassa is the central object designated 1989 N5.
 81.4 50074 +0.3115 0.135 1989 Voyager Science Team inner
V Despina
A white oval shaped object somewhat elongated horizontally is seen in the center. There are a few small dark spots on its surface.
 156 52526 +0.3346 0.068 1989 Voyager Science Team inner
VI Galatea
A small white object elongated from the bottom-left to top-right can be seen in the center.
 174.8 61953 +0.4287 0.034 1989 Voyager Science Team inner
VII Larissa
An irregularly shaped grey object slightly elongated horizontally occupies almost the whole image. Its surface shows a number of dark and white spots.
 194 73548 +0.5555 0.205 1981 Reitsema et al. inner
XIV Hippocamp
Composite of multiple Hubble images of the Neptune system, with the moons appearing as bright white dots. The fainter dot to the upper right is Hippocamp, circled and labeled to distinguish it from other moons in this image.
 34.8 105283 +0.9500 0.064 2013 Showalter et al. inner
VIII Proteus
A conically shaped object is seen almost fully illuminated from the left. The cone axis looks towards the observer. The outline of the object is a rectangle with rounded corners. The surface is rough with a few large depressions.
 420 117646 +1.1223 0.075 1989 Voyager Science Team inner
I Triton♠
A large spherical object is half-illuminated from the bottom-left. The south pole faces to the light source. Around it in the bottom-left part of the body there is a large white area with a few dozens dark streaks elongated in the pole to equator direction. This polar cap has a slight red tinge. The equatorial region is darker with a tint of cyan. Its surface is rough with a number of craters and intersecting lineaments.
 2705.2 354759 −5.8769 156.865 1846 Lassell Major
II Nereid†
A small white smeared body is seen in center.
 357 5504000 +360.14 5.8 1949 Kuiper Nereid
IX Halimede‡
N2002n1b.jpg
 62 16590100 −1879.30 113.1 2002 Holman et al. Halimede
XI Sao♦
Sao VLT-FORS1 2002-09-03 annotated.gif
 44 22239300 +2918.70 53.3 2002 Holman et al. Sao
S/2002 N 5♦ 38 23365200 +3141.26 42.1 2002 Holman et al. Sao
XII Laomedeia♦
Laomedeia VLT-FORS1 2002-09-03.gif
 42 23502300 +3175.65 37.7 2002 Holman et al. Sao
X Psamathe♥
Psamathe arrow.png
 40 47611900 −9149.87 126.6 2003 Sheppard et al. Neso
XIII Neso♥
Neso VLT-FORS1 2002-09-03.gif
 60 49871600 −9796.67 126.9 2002 Holman et al. Neso
S/2021 N 1♥ 25 50623600 −10017.93 134.5 2021 Sheppard et al. Neso

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List of Neptune's moons Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.