Neptune's Small Moons

Neptune's innermost four moons are

• Naiad,
• Thalassa,
• Despina and
• Galatea.

Naiad

• Naiad (Neptune III) is the innermost of Neptune's known satellites:
  • distance from Neptune: 48,200 km
  • diameter: 58 km
  a.k.a. 1989 N 6

• Pronounced "NAY ed"

• Naiad was one of the nymphs who lived in and presided over brooks, springs, and fountains.

• The last of the satellites discovered in 1989 by Voyager 2.

• Naiad, Thalassa, Despina and Galatea are all irregularly shaped.

More about Naiad

• from LANL

Thalassa

• Thalassa (Neptune IV) is the second of Neptune's known satellites:
  • distance from Neptune: 50,000 km
  • diameter: 80 km
  a.k.a. 1989 N 5

• "Thalassa" is the Greek word for "sea".

• Discovered in 1989 by Voyager 2.

More about Thalassa

• from LANL

Despina

• Despina (Neptune V) is the third of Neptune's known satellites:
  • distance from Neptune: 52,600 km
  • diameter: 148 km
  a.k.a. 1989 N 3

• Despina was a nymph, the daughter of Poseidon (Neptune) and Demeter.

• Discovered in 1989 by Voyager 2.

More about Despina

• from LANL

Galatea

• Galatea (Neptune VI) is the fourth of Neptune's known satellites:
  • distance from Neptune: 62,000 km
  • diameter: 158 km
  a.k.a. 1989 N 4

• Pronounced "gal eh TEE eh"

• Galatea was a maiden who was originally a statue carved by Pygmalion and who was brought to life by Aphrodite in answer to the sculptor's pleas.

• Discovered in 1989 by Voyager 2.

More about Galatea

• from LANL

Open Issues

• We know next to nothing about these moons. Even the basic orbital and size data are not very accurate.