Is Triton a captured Kuiper Belt Object?
It’s very possible. The primary piece of proof is that Triton orbits Neptune the fallacious means in what’s often known as a retrograde orbit. Like Earth, Neptune spins counterclockwise on its axis. Any moons that fashioned alongside Neptune ought to orbit the planet in the identical route.
Simulations present the moon might have had a big companion world much like Pluto’s Charon. Destined for a tragic parting, the duo might have come barreling by means 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 could nonetheless be floating amongst the celebs — 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 dealing with a grim future: Its retrograde orbit means Neptune’s gravity is slowly pulling it in direction of the planet. Tens of millions of years from now, gravitational forces will break Triton aside, probably forming a brand new Neptunian ring.
The mayhem brought on by 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 practically seven instances as removed from Neptune on the lengthy finish of its orbit because it does on the brief finish.
