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Is Triton a captured Kuiper Belt object?

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Steven Oleson NASA Glenn Research Center. Description We propose a hopper vehicle using a radioisotope thermal rocket engine, using in-situ propellant, to explore Neptune's moon Triton. This moon is thought to be a captured Kuiper Belt object due to its retrograde orbit and surface. read more

The most compelling argument is its retrograde orbit around Neptune (in the direction opposite to Neptune’s rotation). This orbit is very difficult to explain unless Triton was captured from the Kuiper belt. But in order for Neptune to capture Triton, it would have been necessary for Triton to lose some of its velocity. read more

The Kuiper belt (green), in the Solar System's outskirts, is where Triton is thought to have originated. Moons in retrograde orbits cannot form in the same region of the solar nebula as the planets they orbit, so Triton must have been captured from elsewhere. read more

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This is Triton, Neptune's moon. It's probably a captured ...
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