Naiad was discovered in August 1989 by Voyager 2. This satellite orbits Neptune every seven hours, close to the equator. Further, Naiad’s orbit lacks eccentricity. This satellite is the innermost moon orbiting Neptune.
Naiad is 48,230 kilometers from Neptune and has an equitorial radius of 29 kilometers. Its diameter is 56 kilometers and its orbit inclination is 4074. The moon’s reflectivitiy is 0.06. Naiad is irregularly shaped, resembling a
Due to Naiad’s small size and Neptune’s distance from Earth, little is known about this satellite. After its discovery in 1989, Naiad was named for a group of Greek nymphs who acted as caretakers of springs, rivers and fountains.
As a result of Naiad’s close proximity to Neptune, this moon will eventually be broken up into smaller pieces forming a ring of debris around the planet. Another possibility would be degradation of the Naiad’s orbit until it burns up in the planet’s atmosphere.
For more information:
- Neptune’s Moon Naiad
- Neptune: Moons: Naiad: Facts & Figures
- AbsoluteAstronomy.com: Naiad
- Wikipedia: Naiad
This entry also posted in the American Military University Introduction to Astronomy newsgroup.