Nereid
Nereid Facts
- Nereid (Neptune II) is the outermost of
Neptune's known satellites and the third largest:
- average distance from Neptune: 5,513,400 km
- diameter: 340 km
- Pronounced "NEER ee ed"
- Nereid is any one of the sea nymphs, the 50 daughters of Nereus.
- Discovered in 1949 by Kuiper.
- Nereid's orbit is the most highly
eccentric of any planet or
satellite in the solar system; its distance from Neptune
varies from 1,353,600 to 9,623,700 kilometers.
- Nereid's odd orbit indicates that it may be a captured
asteroid or
Kuiper Belt object.
Pictures
- (above) Nereid 1k gif
More about Nereid
Open Issues
- We know next to nothing about Nereid.
- How did it come to be in such an odd orbit?
... Neptune
... Triton
... Nereid
... Pluto
... 
Bill Arnett; last updated:
1995 May 6
