Triton

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/triton

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 Triton?October 10, 1846
2. What is the discoverer?William Lassell
3. What is the atmospheric composition?Primarily nitrogen (99.9%), with trace amounts of methane
4. What makes Triton different from other moons?Triton is Neptune's biggest moon and it orbits in the opposite direction of most moons, meaning it goes around Neptune backwards. This unusual path suggests it was captured from outside the solar system.
5. Why does Triton spin backwards around Neptune?During the capture, strong gravity changed Triton's orbit and flipped its spin, so it now rotates in the opposite direction to Neptune's rotation.

Heliocentric Orbit: An orbit around the Sun, as opposed to orbiting a planet.
Sublimation: The process where a solid changes directly into a gas without becoming a liquid first.
Tectonic Activity: The deformation of the planet's crust due to internal forces, leading to features like faults and folds.