‘Extremely understudied’ moon Nereid may hold incredible tie to Neptune, study shows
A recent study suggests that Neptune's moon Nereid may be one of the last surviving original companions of the planet. Researchers from the California Institute of Technology used NASA's Webb Space Telescope to analyze Nereid's unique orbit and composition. The findings indicate that Nereid likely formed in close proximity to Neptune rather than migrating from the Kuiper Belt.
- ▪Nereid is approximately 220 miles (350 kilometers) across and has an eccentric orbit around Neptune.
- ▪The study indicates that Nereid's composition is inconsistent with Kuiper Belt objects, suggesting it has been part of Neptune's system all along.
- ▪Nereid takes nearly an entire Earth year to complete one orbit around Neptune.
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World News ‘Extremely understudied’ moon Nereid may hold incredible tie to Neptune, study shows By Associated Press Published May 21, 2026, 9:54 a.m. ET See more of our coverage in your search results. Add The New York Post on Google CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Neptune’s far-flung moon Nereid may be the last of the planet’s original companions that managed to survive a cosmic crash, scientists reported Wednesday. Sixteen known moons circle Neptune, our solar system’s eighth and most distant planet. Neptune’s biggest moon, Triton, barged in from the solar system’s frigid outskirts billions of years ago, scattering the planet’s original moons and putting them on destructive collision courses. This image, released by NASA, shows the Voyager view of Nereid, a satellite of Neptune, obtained on Aug.
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