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Is Triton a captured Kuiper Belt Object?
It’s very probably. The primary piece of proof is that Triton orbits Neptune the mistaken manner in what’s referred to as a retrograde orbit. Like Earth, Neptune spins counterclockwise on its axis. Any moons that shaped alongside Neptune ought to orbit the planet in the identical course.
Simulations present the moon might have had a big companion world just like Pluto’s Charon. Destined for a tragic parting, the duo might have come barreling by way of the Neptune system, with Triton on a collision course with Neptune. Triton’s companion might have saved the day by ushering Triton into an orbit that was extremely inclined, or tilted, off of Neptune’s equator.
The companion world, sadly, would have been tossed out of the photo voltaic system. It might nonetheless be floating amongst the celebrities — a darkened world from which the Solar is only one of many factors of sunshine.
Triton might have escaped disaster when it arrived at Neptune, however it’s nonetheless going through a grim future: Its retrograde orbit means Neptune’s gravity is slowly pulling it in direction of the planet. Hundreds of thousands of years from now, gravitational forces will break Triton aside, probably forming a brand new Neptunian ring.
The mayhem attributable to Triton’s entrance might have flung the moon Nereid — which can even be a captured Kuiper Belt Object — right into a extremely eccentric orbit. Whereas most moons have roughly round orbits, Nereid travels almost seven occasions as removed from Neptune on the lengthy finish of its orbit because it does on the quick finish.
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