Triton, Neptune's Icy Moon

neptune · moons · space

Neptune's biggest moon. Triton is the largest moon orbiting Neptune and is so massive that its own gravity made it round into a sphere, just like planets do.

Orbits backward. Triton is the only large moon in our entire Solar System that orbits its planet in the opposite direction of the planet's rotation. Scientists call this a retrograde orbit.

Captured from space. Triton wasn't born orbiting Neptune like most moons. Scientists think it was once a dwarf planet wandering in the icy Kuiper belt until Neptune's gravity pulled it in.

Has a thin atmosphere. Unlike most moons that have no air at all, Triton has a super thin, hazy atmosphere around it, making it even more special and strange.