Author Question: What are the two largest moons of Neptune and what makes them peculiar objects in our Solar System? ... (Read 106 times)

nautica902

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 591
What are the two largest moons of Neptune and what makes them peculiar objects in our Solar System?
 
  What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

What are the two largest moons of Neptune and what makes them peculiar objects in our Solar System?
 
  What will be an ideal response?



anyusername12131

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 327
Answer to Question 1

The two largest moons, Triton and Nereid, have been a puzzle for years because of their peculiar orbits. Triton has a nearly circular orbit, but it travels retrogradeclockwise as seen from the north. This makes Triton the only large satellite in the Solar System with a backward orbit; all other retrograde satellites are very small. The other Neptunian satellite visible from Earth, Nereid, moves in the prograde direction, but its orbit is highly elliptical and very large. Nereid takes 359.4 days to orbit Neptune once. Triton is so cold (35 K) that it can hold a thin atmosphere. Triton is very efficient at absorbing sunlight. Its thin atmosphere does not dim sunlight, and its crust is composed of ices that are partially transparent to light. As the light penetrates into the ice and is absorbed, it warms the ices. However, the crust is not very transparent to infrared radiation, so the heat is trapped in the ice. So the crust of Triton appears to be heated, in part, by an icy form of the greenhouse effect.

Answer to Question 2

The two largest moons, Triton and Nereid, have been a puzzle for years because of their peculiar orbits. Triton has a nearly circular orbit, but it travels retrogradeclockwise as seen from the north. This makes Triton the only large satellite in the Solar System with a backward orbit; all other retrograde satellites are very small. The other Neptunian satellite visible from Earth, Nereid, moves in the prograde direction, but its orbit is highly elliptical and very large. Nereid takes 359.4 days to orbit Neptune once. Triton is so cold (35 K) that it can hold a thin atmosphere. Triton is very efficient at absorbing sunlight. Its thin atmosphere does not dim sunlight, and its crust is composed of ices that are partially transparent to light. As the light penetrates into the ice and is absorbed, it warms the ices. However, the crust is not very transparent to infrared radiation, so the heat is trapped in the ice. So the crust of Triton appears to be heated, in part, by an icy form of the greenhouse effect.



Related Topics

Need homework help now?

Ask unlimited questions for free

Ask a Question
 

Did you know?

Opium has influenced much of the world's most popular literature. The following authors were all opium users, of varying degrees: Lewis Carroll, Charles, Dickens, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Oscar Wilde.

Did you know?

According to the FDA, adverse drug events harmed or killed approximately 1,200,000 people in the United States in the year 2015.

Did you know?

The human body's pharmacokinetics are quite varied. Our hair holds onto drugs longer than our urine, blood, or saliva. For example, alcohol can be detected in the hair for up to 90 days after it was consumed. The same is true for marijuana, cocaine, ecstasy, heroin, methamphetamine, and nicotine.

Did you know?

Asthma-like symptoms were first recorded about 3,500 years ago in Egypt. The first manuscript specifically written about asthma was in the year 1190, describing a condition characterized by sudden breathlessness. The treatments listed in this manuscript include chicken soup, herbs, and sexual abstinence.

Did you know?

Symptoms of kidney problems include a loss of appetite, back pain (which may be sudden and intense), chills, abdominal pain, fluid retention, nausea, the urge to urinate, vomiting, and fever.

For a complete list of videos, visit our video library