Despina (moon)
From Freepedia
Image:Simulated view of Despina.jpg Despina (des-pee'-na or des-pye'-na; Latin Despœna from Greek Δεσποίνη) is the third known moon of Neptune. It is named after Despina, a nymph who was a daughter of Poseidon.
Despina was discovered in late July, 1989 from the images taken by the Voyager 2 probe. It was given the temporary designation S/1989 N 3. It is also designated Neptune V.
The discovery was announced (IAUC 4824) on August 2, 1989, but the text only talks of « 10 frames taken over 5 days », giving a discovery date of sometime before July 28.
Despina is irregularly shaped and shows no sign of any geological modification. Since its orbit is below Neptune's synchronous orbit radius it is slowly decaying due to tidal forces and will one day break up into a planetary ring or impact on Neptune's surface.
- Orbital radius: 52,526 km
- Diameter: 180×148×128 km
- Mass: 2.1×1018 kg
- Estimated density: 1.2 g/cm3
- Orbital period: 0.335 d
- Orbital inclination: 0.080° (to Neptune's equator), 0.064° (to the local Laplace plane), 28.56° (to the ecliptic)
| Neptune's natural satellites |
|---|
| Naiad | Thalassa | Despina | Galatea | Larissa | Proteus | Triton | Nereid |
| S/2002 N 1 | S/2002 N 2 | S/2002 N 3 | S/2003 N 1 | S/2002 N 4 |
| see also: The Solar System |
