Nereid 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.

Nereid — 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
Nereid was discovered in 1949. JPL credits G.P. Kuiper. The name and discovery entry identify this particular satellite of Neptune; similarly named asteroids are separate objects.

Nereid was discovered on May 1, 1949 by Gerard P. Kuiper with a ground-based telescope. It was the last satellite of Neptune to be discovered before Voyager 2's discoveries four decades later.

Nereid is one of the outermost of Neptune's known moons and is among the largest. Nereid is unique because it has one of the most eccentric orbits of any moon in our solar system. Nereid is so far from Neptune that it requires 360 Earth days to make one orbit. This odd orbit suggests that Nereid may be a captured asteroid or Kuiper Belt object or that it was greatly disturbed during the capture of Neptune's largest moon Triton.

Nereid is named after the Nereids, sea-nymphs, in Greek mythology. Kuiper proposed the name when he reported his discovery.