Larissa (moon)

High school (ages 12+)
Space & Astronomy

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/larissa-moon

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. Who discovered Larissa (moon)?May 24, 1981
2. What is the satellite type?Irregular moon
3. What is the parent planet?Neptune
4. What is Larissa and why does it look like a potato?Larissa is one of Neptune's moons. It looks like a lumpy potato because it is small and Neptune's gravity squishes it instead of making it round.
5. How fast does Larissa orbit Neptune?Larissa travels around Neptune very quickly, taking only about 7.7 hours to make one full orbit. That's less than a day!

Hydrostatic Equilibrium: The balance between gravity pulling inward and internal pressure pushing outward, forming a spherical shape.
Tidal Forces: Gravitational forces exerted by a celestial body that vary across another body, causing stretching or squeezing.
Albedo: The measure of how much light a surface reflects; a low albedo means it's dark.
Circumplanetary Disk: A rotating disk of gas and dust surrounding a planet, from which moons can form.