Mondo Knows Facts
Neptune moon Triton orbits in the opposite direction of planetary spin
Triton is the only large solar system moon with a retrograde orbit
Triton is the largest moon of Neptune and the only major moon in the solar system that orbits in a direction opposite to its planet's rotation. This retrograde orbit indicates that Triton did not form around Neptune naturally but was instead captured from the Kuiper Belt by Neptune's gravity.
Where this comes from
Facts that can change over time are reviewed and updated. If something here looks wrong, Mondo would rather know than be confidently incorrect.
Go further
More facts like this
Venus rotates backwards relative to most solar system planetsOn Venus the Sun rises in the west and sets in the eastVoyager 2 is the only spacecraft to visit both Uranus and NeptuneA planetary alignment enabled a close-range flyby tour of four gas giantsNeptune features the fastest winds in the solar systemSupersonic storms on Neptune reach speeds over two thousand kilometres per hourIt rains diamonds deep inside Uranus and NeptuneCrushing planetary pressures transform atmospheric methane into falling diamondsThe Kuiper Belt holds hundreds of thousands of icy bodiesA vast ring of primordial debris extends far beyond Neptune orbitSaturn moon Mimas resembles the fictional Death StarThe giant Herschel crater covers one third of the lunar diameter
Tags: triton, neptune, retrograde
Neptune moon Triton orbits in the opposite direction of planetary spin: the short answers
- Where does this come from, and can I check it?
- Triton is the only large solar system moon with a retrograde orbit. The figure is taken from ESA, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
- Is this really a space fact?
- Yes. It sits on the Space shelf, one of 1,090 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
- What else can I read about it?
- The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.
