Discovery of Nereid

Nereid is the third-largest moon of Neptune and was discovered by the Dutch-American astronomer Gerard Kuiper using the telescope at McDonald Observatory in Texas. It has one of the most eccentric orbits of any moon in the Solar System, ranging from relatively near to very far from Neptune, which suggests that it was either captured or scattered into this orbit by the capture of Triton. The moon is named for the sea nymphs of Greek mythology. Voyager 2 flew past it at a great distance in 1989, so little detailed imagery of its surface exists.

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