Neptunian Outer Satellite Names |
Neptunian Outer Satellite Names |
Jan 31 2007, 05:27 PM
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Senior Member Group: Moderator Posts: 3233 Joined: 11-February 04 From: Tucson, AZ Member No.: 23 |
The four remaining, unnamed outer satellites of Neptune now have official names. S/ 2002 N 1 is now Halimede, S/ 2002 N 2 is now Sao, S/ 2002 N 3 is now Laomedeia, and S/ 2002 N 4 is now Neso.
Neso is unique as the most distantly orbiting satellite from any planet, with a semimajor axis of 48,387,000 km, or 0.32 au. With its eccentric orbit, it actually reaches farther away from Neptune than Mercury gets from the Sun. Also of note is Sao. While all these moons are technically named after Nereides, SAO is the acronym for the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, discoverer Matthew Holman's home institution -------------------- &@^^!% Jim! I'm a geologist, not a physicist!
The Gish Bar Times - A Blog all about Jupiter's Moon Io |
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Jan 31 2007, 06:12 PM
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1582 Joined: 14-October 05 From: Vermont Member No.: 530 |
While all these moons are technically named after Nereides, SAO is the acronym for the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, discoverer Matthew Holman's home institution Neat! Reminds me of Nix and Hydra. |
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