Larissa is a moon of Neptune, part of the Solar System in the universe. Neptune is a planet associated with the Sun, our star, and this space encyclopedia describes the moon’s identity and place in its planetary system.

Larissa — A natural satellite of Neptune. Its physical properties and orbital motion are shown from the available catalogue and ephemeris data.

No object-specific chemical/elemental dataset has been verified and imported for this record. This does not mean none is publicly available. Appearance may be imagined; chemistry is not.

Discovery and designation
Larissa was discovered in 1989. JPL credits Voyager Science Team. Its provisional designation is S/1989 N2. The name and discovery entry identify this particular satellite of Neptune; similarly named asteroids are separate objects.

Although it was initially spotted by H. Reitsema, W. Hubbard, L. Lebofsky, and D. Tholen through ground-based telescopes in 1981, Larissa was officially discovered in July 1989 by the Voyager 2 science team.

Larissa is another of the small moons found near Neptune's faint ring system in 1989. Like Despina and Galatea, Larissa is irregularly shaped and heavily cratered.

Larissa's orbit is mostly circular, but it is slowly spiraling inward and may eventually impact Neptune's atmosphere, or the gas giant's tidal forces may break Larissa apart to form a planetary ring. The moon orbits Neptune in about 13 hours and 20 minutes.

Larissa was a nymph from Greek mythology. The moon was originally designated S/1989 N 2.