Neptune's Moons May Have Formed from a Lunar Massacre by Triton

On July 29, a study in Science Advances indicated that Neptune's inner moons likely emerged from debris resulting from Triton's disturbance of its original satellite system. The research, spearheaded by Ryleigh Davis at UC San Diego, employed data from the James Webb Space Telescope to investigate Neptune's rings and its moons, Larissa, Galatea, and Proteus. The presence of magnesium-rich phyllosilicates in Larissa and Galatea suggests the existence of liquid water, with researchers proposing these minerals came from larger moons that Triton's gravitational pull destroyed. Triton, which was captured from the Kuiper Belt, instigated violent collisions that led to the formation of the current moons. Notably, Proteus did not show phyllosilicates, potentially due to different origins of debris or thermal processes. This study supports earlier research on Triton's impact on Nereid's orbit, emphasizing the enigmatic nature of Neptune's system. Voyager 2 explored Neptune in 1989.