Despina is one of the inner moons of Neptune, discovered in July 1989 in images taken by the Voyager 2 spacecraft on its approach to the planet, in a study by Stephen Synnott. It orbits close to Neptune, between the faint ring called Le Verrier and the larger moon Galatea, and it is a small, irregular body about 150 kilometers across. It was one of several moons that the probe showed to be dark and heavily cratered. Its name comes from Despoina, a nymph of Greek mythology who was a daughter of Poseidon, the counterpart of the Roman god Neptune.
Before and after
- 4 May 1989Launch of Magellan
- 16 June 1989Discovery of Proteus
- 16 July 1989Birth of Gareth Bale
- 23 July 1989Birth of Daniel Radcliffe
- 28 July 1989Discovery of Despina
- 28 July 1989Discovery of Galatea
- 8 August 1989Launch of Hipparcos
- 23 August 1989Baltic Way
- 25 August 1989Voyager 2 flies past Neptune
More in Universe & space
- 16 February 1948Discovery of Miranda
- 4 March 1979Discovery of Metis
- 24 April 1990Launch of Hubble Space Telescope
- 1998Supernovae show that cosmic expansion is accelerating
- 10 April 2019The first image of a black hole
- 25 December 2021Launch of James Webb Space Telescope
The era
This moment belongs to the Contemporary world (1945 CE to today), the world since 1945. You can also browse everything in the 20th century.