JWST finds Neptune’s Nereid may be the solar system’s oldest moon survivor
TL;DR
New James Webb Space Telescope analysis suggests Neptune’s third-largest moon, Nereid, is likely the last remaining remnant from Neptune’s original moon system rather to a captured Kuiper Belt object, with a water-ice-rich spectrum and an unusual orbit that imply Triton’s capture disrupted Neptune’s moons and that Nereid could offer a rare window into how moons around ice giants form.
Topics:sciencespace#james-webb-space-telescope#moon-formation#neptune#nereid#solar-system-formation#space
- One of Neptune's 16 moons is not like the others, James Webb telescope finds — and it could be key to fully understanding the solar system Live Science
- Astronomers believe Neptunian moon is lone intact survivor of ancient collision CNN
- Neptune’s Moon Nereid Might Be the Sole Intact Survivor of an Ancient Lunar Collision Smithsonian Magazine
- This Moon of Neptune Might Have Survived a Wrecking-Ball Event The New York Times
- Neptune's odd moon Nereid may be sole survivor from ancient cosmic shake-up Yahoo
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