Nereid as a regular satellite of Neptune
2026-05-20
Nereid, Neptune’s third largest moon, is considered to be a captured irregular satellite because of its highly eccentric orbit. However, among irregular satellites, Nereid is an outlier: It is the largest, the closest to its host planet, and the most eccentric. We present James Webb Space Telescope near-infrared spectroscopy of Nereid that demonstrates that its composition is inconsistent with its suggested captured origin. We then simulate Nereid’s early orbital history subsequent to Triton’s capture to demonstrate a plausible dynamical pathway for a regular satellite formed in situ around Neptune to evolve to Nereid’s present-day orbit. On the basis of the available spectroscopic and dynamical evidence, we propose that Nereid is not a body captured from the Kuiper belt but rather the sole surviving intact regular satellite of Neptune.