Proteus

Neptune VIII

Proteus Facts

• Proteus is the sixth of Neptune's known satellites and the second largest:
  • distance from Neptune: 117,600 km
  • diameter: 418 km (436 x 416 x 402)
  a.k.a. 1989 N 1

• Pronounced "PROH tee us"

• Proteus was a sea god who could change his shape at will.

• Discovered in 1989 by Voyager 2. Though it is larger than Nereid, it was not discovered earlier because it is very dark and so close to Neptune that it is difficult to see in the glare of the much brighter planet.

• Proteus is irregular (non-spherical) in shape. Proteus is probably about as big as an irregular body can be before its gravity pulls it into a more spherical shape.

• The heavily cratered surface shows no signs of geologic activity.

Pictures

1. (above) Tiny, Dark Proteus 8k jpg

2. Proteus 83k gif

3. Strange-shaped Proteus 10k jpg; 3k gif
4. Proteus 31k jpg
5. Map of Proteus 126k gif

More about Proteus

• from LANL

Open Issues

• We know next to nothing about Proteus.