Triton
Triton commonly refers to:
- Triton (mythology), a Greek god
- Triton (moon), a satellite of Neptune
Triton may also refer to:
Natural
- Triton Bay, an Arctic waterway in Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada
- Triton Bay, Kaimana, West Papua, Indonesia
- Triton Island, a Paracel Island in the South China Sea
- Triton Point, a point on the east coast of Alexander Island, Antarctica
- Triton River, a river flowing into Lake Copais, Greece
Biology
- Triton (gastropod), a group of sea snails
Physical sciences
- Triton (physics), the nucleus of tritium, an isotope of hydrogen
- Triton X-100, a nonionic surfactant
- TRITON, a SODAR system for measuring sound wave scattering
Technology
- Triton (content delivery), a digital delivery and digital rights management service until 2006
- Triton disk drive, a product that allows 2.8-inch floppy disks to be read on various home computers
- E Ink Triton, an electronic paper technology
- Korg Triton, a music workstation synthesizer
- Triton chipset, an Intel Pentium chipset
- AIM Triton, a version of the AOL Instant Messenger software
- Triton, a World War II encryption network using the Enigma machine
- Triton, a line of GPS receivers manufactured by Magellan Navigation
- Triton, a malware program used to attack a Triconex power plant
Written for younger readers
Triton, in simpler words
This version comes from Wikijunior, a set of books written for children aged 8 to 11. It is shorter and uses plainer language than the article above.
From Wikijunior: Solar System
Triton is the largest moon of the planet Neptune, and the seventh largest in the Solar System. The best view we have had of Triton was in 1989 when the Voyager 2 spacecraft passed close by Neptune.
Triton has an average size of 2700 km across, which is larger than Pluto and about the same size as Europa. The moon is about half the width of the United States.
The surface is icy and the temperature on the surface is bitterly cold. The southern half of the planet is covered by an ice cap. The moon does have a very thin atmosphere.
Triton is one of the few places in the Solar System where there are volcanoes. These are caused by the distant heat from the Sun. The volcanoes spew material from below the surface, mostly very cold dust and gas. These geysers are slowly reforming the surface, and have wiped out any craters.
One day on Triton lasts for 5.877 days on Earth, around 5 days and 21 hours.
Triton takes 5.877 days to complete an orbit around Neptune, the same time as the length of one day. This means it always keeps the same side facing toward Neptune.
This moon is unusual because of the direction of its orbit around Neptune. Normally a moon orbits in the same direction that the main planet rotates. However Triton has a retrograde orbit, which means it orbits in the opposite direction. It is the only large moon in the Solar System to have a retrograde orbit.
Because of this backward orbit, Triton is gradually being dragged closer and closer to Neptune. Millions of years from now it will come too close to the giant planet and break apart. When it does so, the debris will form a large ring around Neptune that is similar to the ring around Saturn.
This moon is mostly made of rocky material with about a quarter made of ice. It is very similar to Pluto temperature wise, but it is more of an icy texture and composition.
If you were on Triton, it would pull you down with a force less than one-twelfth as strong as the force of Earth’s gravity.
Triton was the son of Poseidon in Greek mythology. In Roman Mythology, Poseidon was called Neptune.
Triton was discovered by William Lassell in 1846, shortly after the planet Neptune was discovered. However the moon was named by Camille Flammarion in 1880. The name of this moon did not come into general use until the middle of the twentieth century.
de:Wikijunior Sonnensystem/ Neptun/ Triton
Where this page comes from
The article above is adapted from “Triton” on Simple English Wikipedia, by its contributors. We removed reference markers, navigation boxes and tables, expanded measurement templates into readable numbers, and kept the prose otherwise intact. The simpler version is adapted from Wikijunior on Wikibooks.
Both sources are published under CC BY-SA 4.0, so this page is published under the same licence. You may share and adapt it, including commercially, as long as you credit the original and keep the same licence.
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