Laomedeia , also known as Neptune XII, is a
prograde irregular satellite
In astronomy, an irregular moon, irregular satellite or irregular natural satellite is a natural satellite following a distant, inclined, and often eccentric and retrograde orbit. They have been captured by their parent planet, unlike regular s ...
of
Neptune. It was discovered by
Matthew J. Holman
Matthew J. Holman (born 1967) is a Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Smithsonian astrophysicist and lecturer at Harvard University. Holman studied at MIT, where he received his bachelor's degree in mathematics in 1989 and his PhD in planetar ...
, et al. on August 13, 2002.
Before the announcement of its name on February 3, 2007 (IAUC 8802), it was known as S/2002 N 3.
It orbits Neptune at a distance of about 23,571,000 km and is about 42 kilometers in diameter (assuming albedo of 0.04).
It is named after
Laomedeia, one of the 50
Nereids
In Greek mythology, the Nereids or Nereides ( ; grc, Νηρηΐδες, Nērēḯdes; , also Νημερτές) are sea nymphs (female spirits of sea waters), the 50 daughters of the ' Old Man of the Sea' Nereus and the Oceanid Doris, sisters ...
.
References
External links
Neptune's Known Satellites by
Scott S. Sheppard
Scott Sander Sheppard (born 1977) is an American astronomer and a discoverer of numerous moons, comets and minor planets in the outer Solar System.
He is an astronomer in the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism at the Carnegie Institution for Scie ...
David Jewitt pagesMean orbital parameters NASA
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laomedeia (Moon)
Moons of Neptune
Irregular satellites
Discoveries by Tommy Grav
20020813
Moons with a prograde orbit