Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                2026 June 23
                Your browser does not support the video tag.

                      Flying Past Neptune's Moon Triton
      Image Credit: [2]NASA; [3]JPL, [4]Voyager 2, Digital composition:
                      [5]Paul Schenk ([6]LPI, [7]USRA)

   Explanation: What would it look like to fly past [8]Triton, the largest
   moon of planet [9]Neptune? Only one spacecraft has ever done this --
   and the images of this dramatic encounter have been [10]gathered into a
   [11]video. In 1989, the [12]Voyager 2 robotic spacecraft shot through
   the Neptune system with [13]cameras blazing. [14]Triton is slightly
   smaller than [15]Earth's Moon but has [16]ice volcanoes and a surface
   rich in [17]frozen nitrogen. The first sequence in [18]the video shows
   Voyager's approach to [19]Triton, which, with the exception of an
   overall [20]false green tint, appears in approximately true color. The
   mysterious [21]cantaloupe terrain seen under the spacecraft soon
   changed from light to dark, with the [22]terminator of night crossing
   [23]underneath. After closest approach, [24]Voyager pivoted to see the
   departing moon, now visible as a diminishing [25]crescent. In 2015, the
   robotic [26]New Horizons spacecraft famously [27]flew past [28]Pluto,
   an orb of similar size to Triton.

                Almost Hyperspace: [29]Random APOD Generator
                       Tomorrow's picture: open space
     __________________________________________________________________

      [30]< | [31]Archive | [32]Submissions | [33]Index | [34]Search |
   [35]Calendar | [36]RSS | [37]Education | [38]About APOD | [39]Discuss |
                                    [40]>
     __________________________________________________________________

    Authors & editors: [41]Robert Nemiroff ([42]MTU) & [43]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([44]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Amber Straughn [45]Specific rights apply.
            [46]NASA Web Privacy, [47]Accessibility, [48]Notices;
                A service of: [49]ASD at [50]NASA / [51]GSFC,
                         [52]NASA Science Activation
                           & [53]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://www.nasa.gov/
   3. https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/
   4. https://science.nasa.gov/mission/voyager/
   5. https://www.lpi.usra.edu/lpi/schenk/
   6. https://www.lpi.usra.edu/
   7. https://www.usra.edu/
   8. https://science.nasa.gov/neptune/moons/triton/
   9. https://science.nasa.gov/neptune/
  10. https://www.lpi.usra.edu/icy_moons/neptune/triton/press_release/
  11. https://www.lpi.usra.edu/icy_moons/neptune/triton/movie/index.shtml
  12. https://science.nasa.gov/mission/voyager/voyager-2/
  13. https://www.lpi.usra.edu/icy_moons/neptune/triton/
  14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap070304.html
  15. https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5587/
  16. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triton_(moon)#Cryovolcanism
  17. https://youtu.be/rM04U5BO3Ug
  18. https://www.lpi.usra.edu/icy_moons/neptune/triton/movie/index.shtml
  19. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triton_(moon)
  20. https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasacommons/9467442336/
  21. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triton_(moon)#Cantaloupe_terrain
  22. https://www.universetoday.com/articles/terminator
  23. https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/british-shorthair-cat-hiding-under-260nw-1655111092.jpg
  24. https://stereomoons.blogspot.com/2014/08/triton-at-25.html
  25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap241109.html
  26. https://science.nasa.gov/mission/new-horizons/
  27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250518.html
  28. https://science.nasa.gov/dwarf-planets/pluto/
  29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/random_apod.html
  30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260622.html
  31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  32. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  33. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  34. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  35. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  36. https://apod.com/feed.rss
  37. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  38. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  39. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=260623
  40. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260624.html
  41. https://www.mtu.edu/physics/department/faculty/nemiroff/
  42. https://www.mtu.edu/physics/
  43. https://inspirehep.net/authors/1073087
  44. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  45. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  46. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  47. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/
  48. https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/
  49. https://science.gsfc.nasa.gov/astrophysics/
  50. https://www.nasa.gov/
  51. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  52. https://science.nasa.gov/learn/about-science-activation/
  53. http://www.mtu.edu/