[d][39], Athena bears the epithet Tritogeneia () "Triton-born"[41] and while this is suggestive of Triton's daughter being Athena,[42] the appellation is otherwise explainable in several ways, e.g., as Athena's birth (from Zeus's head) taking place at the River Triton or Lake Tritonis. [1] Poseidon's golden palace was located at Aegae on Euboea in one passage of Homer's Iliad 12.21.[4][5][6][a]. Overview Triton is the largest of Neptune's 13 moons. And Nereus appears as a spectator in some examples of this motif. In addition, some of these smaller moons around Neptune may have been absorbed into Triton itself. [7] There could also be ammonia ice on the surface, as there are indications of ammonia dihydrate in the lithosphere. Kuiper proposed the name when he . [7] The plains near Triton's eastern limb are dotted with black spots, the maculae. They are of similar size, have nitrogen in their atmospheres and also icy surfaces. New concepts for missions to the Neptune system, "Bound for Pluto, Carrying Memories of Triton", "Planetary Satellite Mean Orbital Parameters", "The Orbits of the Neptunian Satellites and the Orientation of the Pole of Neptune", "Planetary Satellite Physical Parameters", "Neptune's capture of its moon Triton in a binaryplanet gravitational encounter", "A shear heating origin for ridges on Triton", "NASA Selects Four Possible Missions to Study the Secrets of the Solar System", Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, "Discovery of Supposed Ring and Satellite of Neptune", "Observations of Neptune and his satellite", "The Royal Observatory Greenwich where east meets west: Telescope: The Lassell 2-foot Reflector (1847)", "Planet and Satellite Names and their Discoverers", Seasons Discovered on Neptune's Moon Triton Space.com, "Triton, Pluto, Centaurs, and Trans-Neptunian Bodies", "Triton's evolution with a primordial Neptunian satellite system", "Heat flow and depth to a possible internal ocean on Triton", "Spectroscopy of Pluto and Triton at 34 Microns: Possible Evidence for Wide Distribution of Nonvolatile Solids", "Subsurface oceans and deep interiors of medium-sized outer planet satellites and large trans-neptunian objects", "Overlooked Ocean Worlds Fill the Outer Solar System", "Powering Triton's recent geological activity by obliquity tides: Implications for Pluto geology", "Does Neptune's moon Triton have a subsurface ocean? Lassell did not name his own discovery. Just 17 days after the discovery of this planet, on 10 Sep 1846, the first Neptune Moon 'Triton' was discovered by English astronomer William Lassell. [66][22] And Statius (1st century) makes a Triton figurehead adorn the prow of the Argo. [48] The sirens of Homer's Odyssey were sometimes being depicted, not as human-headed birds but as tritonesses by around this time, as seen in a bowl dated to the 3rd century BC,[g] and this is explained as a conflation with Odysseus's Scylla and Charybdis episode. [55] The surface shows deposits of tholins, organic chemical compounds that may be precursors to the origin of life. Moons of Neptune - National Aeronautics and Space Administration Wiki Until the discovery of Neptunes second moon Nereid in 1949, Triton was commonly referred to as the satellite of Neptune. [70], The few impact craters on Triton are almost all concentrated in the leading hemispherethat facing the direction of the orbital motionwith the majority concentrated around the equator between 30 and 70 longitude,[70] resulting from material swept up from orbit around Neptune. [24][7] He had a different parentage, as his father was Poseidon but his mother Europa according to the Greek writers of this episode. Titan sub investigators 'taking precautions' in case bodies found on [52] The 40% of Triton's surface imaged by Voyager 2 revealed blocky outcrops, ridges, troughs, furrows, hollows, plateaus, icy plains and a few craters. Astrophysicists believe it might have originated in the Kuiper belt,[13] a ring of small icy objects extending from just inside the orbit of Neptune to about 50AU from the Sun. They were believed at that time to have inhabited salt water environments and would occasionally come ashore. [2], Triton's atmosphere is well structured and global. Such changes were observed in 2010. Percentage-wise, it's a very large increase. Pausanias was basing his descriptions on a headless Triton exhibited in Tanagra and another curiosity in Rome. [49] These observations indicated Triton was approaching an unusually warm southern hemisphere summer season that happens only once every few hundred years. Triton is Neptune's largest moon. In Depth | Triton - NASA Solar System Exploration [3] One of the scientists involved in investigation of Triton, James L. Elliot, said:[3], "At least since 1989, Triton has been undergoing a period of global warming. [70] The largest crater observed on Triton thought to have been created by an impact is a 27-kilometer-diameter (17mi) feature called Mazomba. Lassell also claimed to have discovered rings. Her latest book, "Why Am I Taller? "I think it is extremely likely that a subsurface ammonia-rich ocean exists in Triton," said the University of Maryland's Saswata Hier-Majumder in a 2012 Astrobiology Magazine article republished on Space.com. [17] Ovid actually here calls Triton "cerulean" in color, to choose a cognate rendering to the original language (Latin: caeruleus);[18][19] Ovid also includes Triton among other deities (Proteus, Aegaeon, Doris) of being this blue color, with green (viridis) hair,[20][21] as well describing the steed Triton rides as cerulean. Nitrogen ice particles form clouds in the troposphere a few kilometers above the surface of Triton. Triton | Greek mythology | Britannica Triton. [12] There is no stratosphere, defined as a layer where heating from the warmer troposphere and thermosphere is balanced by radiative cooling. The USS Triton (SSN-586) was the only attack submarine of her class, and the only US Navy nuclear-powered submarine to have two reactors. The spacecraft would use a gravity assist from Jupiter and then would cruise for 13 years to its destination in the Neptune-Triton system for its study. Omissions? [34][35] One explanation is that some vase painters developed the convention of depicting Nereus as a fully human form, so that Triton had to be substituted in the depiction of the sea-monster wrestling Herakles. That robot is capable of reaching depths below the Titanic . This article includes a list of Greek mythological figures with the same or similar names. Under the breast and belly is a tail like a dolphin's instead of feet. [f][47] Among these is the work by Greek sculptor Scopas (d. 350 BC) which was later removed to Rome. [30] Some measurements to be taken in this mission are: Magnetic Field, Gravitational Harmonics, Spectroscopy, visible imager, ions and electrons, neutral mass spectrometry, and dust. One example: because no one is quite sure of the size of Triton's rocky core, that creates difficulty with calculating the amount of heating produced by the decay of radioactive isotopes, also known as radiogenic heating. Mastodon: https://qoto.org/@howellspace, Mars donut! When John Herschel received news of Neptune's discovery, he wrote to Lassell suggesting he search for possible moons. Altar of Domitius Ahenobarbus. This is the first place such bodies have been found apart from Earth, and Triton is the only icy body known to feature cryolava lakes, although similar cryomagmatic extrusions can be seen on Ariel, Ganymede, Charon, and Titan. Neptune moons: Facts, names and discovery | Space ***Mass values in parentheses are poorly known. [92], In Wordsworth's sonnet "The World Is Too Much with Us" (c. 1802, published 1807), the poet regrets the prosaic humdrum modern world, yearning for. [34] "Old Man of the Sea" is a generic term applicable to Nereus, who was also frequently depicted as half-fishlike. 14 Neptune Moons Names, Number, and List : Planets Education Triton is one of the few moons in the Solar System known to be geologically active (the others being Jupiters Io and Saturns Enceladus). Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Global Color Mosaic of Triton, taken by Voyager 2 in 1989. The core makes up two-thirds of its total mass. The loss rate is about 11025 nitrogen molecules per second, which equals about 0.3kg/s. He became interested in astronomy and, in 1844, began construction of a 24-inch reflecting telescope, using a machine of his own design for polishing the mirror in 1820. Unlike his father Poseidon who is always fully anthropomorphic in ancient art (this has only changed in modern popular culture), Triton's lower half is that of a fish, while the top half is presented in a human figure. [7], Before the flyby of Voyager 2, astronomers suspected that Triton might have liquid nitrogen seas and a nitrogen/methane atmosphere with a density as much as 30% that of Earth. 'Catastrophic implosion': Navy detected acoustic anomaly shortly after It also appears that a large portion of the surface has melted. [1] Above them a haze is present extending up to 30km from the surface. [11][47] A haze permeates most of Triton's troposphere, thought to be composed largely of hydrocarbons and nitriles created by the action of sunlight on methane. Because Triton's Bond albedo is among the highest within the Solar System, it is sensitive to small variations in spectral albedo. The first detailed observations of Triton were not made until 1930. This Triton is treated as a separate deity in some references. [19] Although Neptune was later confirmed to have rings, they are so faint and dark that it is not plausible he saw them. [13] This hypothesis is supported by several lines of evidence, including binaries being very common among the large Kuiper belt objects. Trtn) is a Greek god of the sea, the son of Poseidon and Amphitrite, god and goddess of the sea respectively. [7] Voyager 2 also captured at least two plumes erupting through the Nitrogen ice of Triton and this is the first evidence of active plumes on an icy world such as Triton. [9][12] These high winds may distort Triton's atmosphere making it asymmetric. Triton is usually represented as a merman, with the upper body of a human and the tailed lower body of a fish. The Neptune Odyssey mission concept is a flagship-class orbiter equipped with atmospheric probes that is proposed to be sent into the Neptune-Triton system. [21] To help achieve these goals, Trident would be equipped with a plasma spectrometer, a high resolution infrared spectrometer with a spectral range up to 5m, as well as many other instruments.[28]. Some of the terrace cliffs rise more than 1 km (0.6 mile) high. Data from the approach of Voyager 2 to Neptune on August 25, 1989, led to a more accurate estimate of Tritons diameter (2,706 km). Laswell found Triton just 17 days after Neptune itself was discovered. [6][24] Another theory argues the changes in temperature are a result of deposition of dark, red material from geological processes on the moon. [8] The upper atmosphere continuously leaks into outer space due to the weak gravity of Triton. Triton is named for a son of the Greek god Poseidon or Neptune. [32] Again, extant literature describing the adventure omits any mention of Triton,[37] but placement of Triton in the scene is not implausible. It has a radius, density (2.061 g/cm3), temperature and chemical composition similar to that of Pluto. . Moreover, according to Apollonius Rhodius, he married the Oceanid of said region, Libya. Triton also rotates once per orbit, so that the same side always faces Neptune. During the Voyager flyby, a polar ice cap presumably composed of nitrogen ice deposited the prior winter covered most of Tritons southern hemisphere. [7] The temperature of Triton's upper atmosphere, at 955K, is higher than that at its surface, due to heat absorbed from solar radiation and Neptune's magnetosphere. [63] Between 1977 and the Voyager 2 flyby in 1989, Triton shifted from a reddish color, similar to Pluto, to a far paler hue, suggesting that lighter nitrogen frosts had covered older reddish material. [10] Its sound was so cacophonous that when loudly blown, it put the giants to flight, who imagined it to be the roar of a dark wild beast. [87] It has been pointed out that Bernini had access to the Papal collection[l] of genuine Greco-Roman sculptures, and worked with restoring ancient fragments,[90] although it is unclear if any Triton was among these. [4][5] Tidal interactions also cause Triton's orbit, which is already closer to Neptune than the Moon is to Earth, to gradually decay further; predictions are that 3.6billion years from now, Triton will pass within Neptune's Roche limit. [30], In Virgil's Aeneid, book 6, it is told that Triton killed Misenus, son of Aeolus, by drowning him after he challenged the gods to play as well as he did. The bright, slightly pinkish, south polar cap at bottom is composed of nitrogen and methane ice and is streaked by dust deposits left by nitrogen gas geysers. Elizabeth first got interested in space after watching the movie Apollo 13 in 1996, and still wants to be an astronaut someday. Discovery of 3 satellites of Neptune - University of British Columbia [2] It extends 800 kilometers above its surface. [44] An upper limit in the low 40s (K) can be set from vapor pressure equilibrium with nitrogen gas in Triton's atmosphere. Solar radiation passes through the thin surface ice sheet, slowly heating and vaporizing subsurface nitrogen until enough gas pressure accumulates for it to erupt through the crust. There is enough rock in Triton's interior for radioactive decay to maintain a liquid subsurface ocean to this day, similar to what is thought to exist beneath the surface of Europa and several other icy outer Solar System worlds. *R following the quantity indicates a retrograde orbit. [27], The proposed capture of Triton may explain several features of the Neptunian system, including the extremely eccentric orbit of Neptune's moon Nereid and the scarcity of moons as compared to the other giant planets. [22] If Triton is confirmed an ocean world, it would become the first example of an ocean world with its origin being from the Kuiper Belt. The orbital properties of Triton were already determined with high accuracy in the 19th century. 176 years, 7 months and 24 days Leap Year: No. She was contributing writer for Space.com for 10 years before joining full-time. Mermaids, and their male counterparts, tritons, were supernatural nymphs of the sea. [11], The original Greek Triton only sometimes bore a trident. Early in the 20th century, the philosopher priest Mander and his biologist wife, Azur, members of the Royal Family, broke tradition and put their one-year-old son, Triton, through Terrigenesis to unlock his super . Streaks on Triton's surface left by geyser plumes suggest that the troposphere is driven by seasonal winds capable of moving material over a micrometer in size. [21] Around 100 dark surface fans on the SPT are attributed to the plumes. [59] Voyager 2's images of Triton's southern hemisphere show many such streaks of dark material. Because Triton's Bond albedo is among the highest in the Solar System, it is sensitive to small variations in spectral albedo. [66] There are long double ridges of ice with central troughs bearing a strong resemblance to Europan lineae (although they have a larger scale[14]), and which may have a similar origin,[7] possibly shear heating from strike-slip motion along faults caused by diurnal tidal stresses experienced before Triton's orbit was fully circularized. [13][14][b], Triton is "sea-hued" according to Ovid and "his shoulders barnacled with sea-shells". Global Color Mosaic of Triton, taken by Voyager 2 in 1989. We've got you covered. Rumpf thought that might be the earliest example of a "Triton with two fish-tails (Triton mit zwei Fischschwnzen)". Glyptothek Munich. This event is more likely for more massive companions. Although Neptune was later confirmed to have rings, they are so faint and dark that it is doubtful that he actually saw them. Day of the Week: Saturday How Long Ago? Triton was discovered on Oct. 10, 1846 by British astronomer William Lassell, just 17 days after Neptune itself was discovered. [68], Trions and nereids appear as marine retinues (Latin: marinum obsequium) to the goddess Venus in Apuleius's Metamorphoses, or "The Golden Ass". [65] Many also appear to be tectonic and may result from an extension or strike-slip faulting. The maculae typically have diameters of about 100km and widths of the halos of between 20 and 30km. Triton survived only because Neptune's system was bereft of a large moon. [7], Cantaloupe terrain, which is mostly dirty water ice, is only known to exist on Triton. Two large cryolava lakes on Triton, seen west of Leviathan Patera. [20] This telescope was donated to the Royal Observatory, Greenwich in the 1880s, but was eventually dismantled. BOSTON - Debris found near the Titanic on Thursday indicates the missing submersible that was on a voyage to explore the wreckage suffered a "catastrophic implosion," the Coast Guard said . Neptune/Triton System Seminar Series, January 11, 2022, Johann Gottfried Galle and Planet Neptune, The Discovery of the Uranus Moons Ariel and Umbriel, John Herschel a Pioneer in Celestial Photography, Harriet Boyd Hawes and the Minoan Culture, Melanie Klein and the Psychoanalysis of Children, William Bucklands Eccentricities and the Discovery of Megalosaurus. [23], There is also Triton, the god of Lake Tritonis of Ancient Libya encountered by the Argonauts. A new moon has been discovered orbiting Neptune, scientists on the Voyager Project at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, Calif., announced today. Triton was discovered by British astronomer William Lassell on October 10, 1846, just 17 days after the discovery of Neptune. [31][32], Triton is the seventh-largest moon and sixteenth-largest object in the Solar System and is modestly larger than the dwarf planets Pluto and Eris. Nevertheless, its mean density of 2.06 grams per cubic cm is higher than that measured for any of the satellites of Saturn or Uranus and is surpassed among large satellites only by the Moon and Jupiters Io and Europa. Triton is the fabled father and leader of 3000 mermaids, and 3000 tritons (mermen). Translated as "parsley which grows in marshes" by Taylor. [3] The third moon, later named Larissa, was first observed by Harold J. Reitsema, William B. Hubbard, Larry A. Lebofsky and David J. Tholen on May 24, 1981. [7], Four roughly circular "walled plains" have been identified on Triton. [66], Triton's western hemisphere consists of a strange series of fissures and depressions known as "cantaloupe terrain" because it resembles the skin of a cantaloupe melon. Your email address will not be published. Titan submarine: Imploded Titanic sub seen for first time as pieces Triton was the son of Poseidon and Amphitrite according to Hesiod 's Theogony. [h][52] The term "Ichthyocentaur" did not originate in Ancient Greece, and only appeared in writing in the Byzantine period (12th century); "Centaur-Triton" is another word for a Triton with horse-legs. Because of its retrograde orbit and composition similar to Plutos, Triton is thought to have been a dwarf planet captured from the Kuiper belt. [26], This Triton first appeared in the guise of Eurypylus before eventually revealing his divine nature. At the time the VLT looked at the planet, it was summer in the southern hemisphere, where the sun's warmth thickened the atmosphere. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. A vast multinational search for five people who had descended to view the wreckage of the sunken R.M.S. Tritons visible surface is covered by methane and nitrogen ices. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Corrections? Oct 8, 1846; Dates in History; Oct 15, 1846; What Happened in 1846. glimpses that would make me less forlorn; [31][7], Herakles wrestling Triton is a common theme in Classical Greek art particularly black-figure pottery,[32] but no literature survives that tells the story. The atmosphere of Triton is the layer of gases surrounding Triton. During a close encounter with the planet, Neptune pulled Triton away from its companion. They caused large amounts of dark substrate to be thrown through the thin Nitrogen ice then into the atmosphere. Neptune has 14 known moons. A brewer by trade, Lassell spotted Triton with his self-built 61cm (24in) aperture metal mirror reflecting telescope (also known as the "two-foot" reflector). These features are unusually crater free, indicating they are young and were recently molten. Later he is often depicted as having a conch shell he would blow like a trumpet. 1.6, Frazer ed., the Pallas who Athena slew and whose flayed skin she used as shield-covering, which, As aforementioned, "Triton" is the most common label, but ". Other information about Triton's history could come from studying small bodies in the solar system, such as Comet 67P/ChuryumovGerasimenko. Elizabeth Howell (she/her), Ph.D., is a staff writer in the spaceflight channel since 2022 covering diversity, education and gaming as well. Even at the remarkably low surface temperature of 38 K (390 F, 235 C) measured by Voyager, a sufficient amount of frozen nitrogen sublimes (passes from a solid directly to a gas) to form a tenuous atmosphere having a near-surface pressure less than 0.00002 bar. 10 Interesting Facts about Triton. Triton has an unusually high albedo, reflecting 6095% of the sunlight that reaches it, and it has changed only slightly since the first observations. The plumes were around 100km long and 8km above the surface and produced dark shadows in the images from voyager 2. Titanic sub: Bodies of five on board may never be recovered - The Telegraph Triton is unique among all large moons in the Solar System for its retrograde orbit around its planet (i.e. Little is known about the north pole because it was on the night side during the Voyager 2 encounter, but it is thought that Triton must also have a north polar ice cap. [8] In addition to the gases mentioned above, the upper atmosphere contains significant amounts of both molecular and atomic hydrogen, which is produced by the photolysis of methane. Astrobiologists are also considering that Triton could have water under its icy surface. Quiz, https://www.britannica.com/place/Triton-astronomy, Science On a Sphere - Triton: Neptune's Moon. A thin veneer of nitrogen or methane ice could effectively hide the spectral signature of water ice. [28] This mission has three scientific goals it is trying to achieve, which are: if Triton has a subsurface ocean or if it has had an ocean in the past, to further understand what energy sources and sinks are at play with the resurfacing of Triton, and to investigate and study the organic constituents on Triton's surface. Triton: Neptune's Odd Moon | Space William Lassell and the Discovery of Triton | SciHi Blog Discovered in 1846 by British astronomer William Lassell just weeks after Neptune itself was found the moon showed some strange characteristics as astronomers learned more about it. This mission will be trying to answer questions of: How do interior and atmospheres of ice giant form and evolve, is Triton an ocean world and what is the cause of the plumes seen on voyager 2, and how the geophysics of Triton can help expand the knowledge of dwarf planets such as Pluto. [56], One of the largest cryovolcanic features found on Triton is Leviathan Patera,[57] a caldera-like feature roughly 100km in diameter seen near the equator. [57][56], Double-tailed tritons began to be depicted by the late 2nd century BC, such as in the Altar of Domitius Ahenobarbus. The tropospheric winds are capable of moving material of over a micrometer in size thus forming the streaks. Bas-Relief. [51], All detailed knowledge of the surface of Triton was acquired from a distance of 40,000km by the Voyager 2 spacecraft during a single encounter in 1989. The mostly darker region above it includes Triton's "cantaloupe terrain" and cryovolcanic and tectonic features. [1][3], Triton dwelt with his parents in underwater golden palaces. [1] The surface temperature was at least 35.6K (237.6C) because Triton's nitrogen ice is in the warmer, hexagonal crystalline state, and the phase transition between hexagonal and cubic nitrogen ice occurs at that temperature. Triton's rotation is tidally locked to be synchronous with its orbit around Neptune: it keeps one face oriented toward the planet at all times. The plumes captured on Triton are similar to the plumes seen on Enceladus and the modeled ejection speeds are more consistent to a deep source. Some models suggest that Neptune used to have other moons orbiting it. . This feature is also connected to two enormous cryolava lakes seen northwest of the caldera. Moons Of Neptune - CosmosPNW The largest moon of the planet Neptune has been given the name Triton, as Neptune is the Roman equivalent of Poseidon. A census of Triton's craters imaged by Voyager 2 found only 179 that were incontestably of impact origin, compared with 835 observed for Uranus's moon Miranda, which has only three percent of Triton's surface area. Elizabeth's reporting includes multiple exclusives with the White House and Office of the Vice-President of the United States, an exclusive conversation with aspiring space tourist (and NSYNC bassist) Lance Bass, speaking several times with the International Space Station, witnessing five human spaceflight launches on two continents, working inside a spacesuit, and participating in a simulated Mars mission. Equatorward of the polar cap, much of the terrain had the appearance of a cantaloupe rind, consisting of dimples crisscrossed with a network of fractures. Triton has a surface of mostly frozen nitrogen, a mostly water-ice crust,[14] an icy mantle and a substantial core of rock and metal. 'Presumed human remains' found in Titan submersible debris field, US That inclination is currently 130; Triton's orbit is now near its maximum departure from coplanarity with Neptune's. [28], Two types of mechanisms have been proposed for Triton's capture. [7] An early theory of how Triton may have been slowed was by collision with another object, either one that happened to be passing by Neptune (which is unlikely), or a moon or proto-moon in orbit around Neptune (which is more likely). Triton is the largest natural satellite of the planet Neptune, and was the first Neptunian moon to be discovered, on October 11, 1846, by English astronomer William Lassell.It is the only large moon in the Solar System with a retrograde orbit, an orbit in the direction opposite to its planet's rotation. [32], Triton was the father of a daughter named Pallas and foster parent to the goddess Athena, according to Pseudo-Apollodorus's Bibliotheca. Each of Tritons seasons, like those of Neptune, lasts nearly 41 years, or one-fourth of Neptunes orbital period. [26], The current understanding of moons in retrograde orbits means they cannot form in the same region of the solar nebula as the planets they orbit. We'll take a look at how many moons Neptune has today . [33] In fewer examples, the Greek pottery depicting apparently the same motif are labeled "Nereus" or "Old Man of the Sea" instead, and among these, Nereus' struggle with Herakles is attested in literature (Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca). [k] Also, with a diameter 5.5% that of Neptune, it is the largest moon of a gas giant relative to its planet in terms of diameter, although Titan is bigger relative to Saturn in terms of mass (the ratio of Triton's mass to that of Neptune is approximately 1:4788). The composition of the lava is unknown, although a mixture of ammonia and water is suspected. The US Coast Guard said recovering items from the sea floor was a "priority" as it seeks to better understand what caused the submersible to implode during its expedition to see the wreck of the . It was discovered by the English astronomer William Lassell in October 1846, only a few weeks after the discovery of Neptune itself. [58], The Voyager 2 probe in 1989 observed a handful of geyser-like eruptions of nitrogen gas and entrained dust from beneath the surface of Triton in plumes up to 8km high. Events like this may have been common during the formation of Neptune, or later when it migrated outward.