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

1. (above) Nereid 1k gif

More about Nereid

• from LANL

Open Issues

• We know next to nothing about Nereid.
• How did it come to be in such an odd orbit?