| − | Triton's mass is 2.14 * 10<sup>22</sup> kg, more than 29% that of [[Earth]]'s [[Moon]] and the seventh-largest mass of all the moons in the solar system. With a density of 2,050 kg/m³, it has far more rock and far less water ice than the core of Neptune.<ref name=Arnett/> | + | Triton's mass is 2.14 * 10<sup>22</sup> kg, more than 29% that of [[Earth]]'s [[Moon]] and the seventh-largest mass of all the moons in the solar system. With a density of 2,050 kg/m³, it has far more rock and far less water ice than the core of Neptune.<ref name=Arnett/> |
| | Triton is also the coldest object on record in the solar system, with a mean temperature of only 34.5 kelvins. This is probably due to Triton's unusually high geometric albedo, which causes it to reflect away energy from the Sun that it might otherwise absorb as heat.<ref name=Arnett/> Yet in the decade since Voyager 2's flyby of Triton in 1989, Triton's trace atmosphere thickened, and its mean temperature rose by two to three kelvins, a radical proportional warming. This was probably due to Triton's unusual orbital inclination, and the exposure of its south pole to more solar radiation than usual.<ref name=mit>"[http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/1998/triton.html MIT researcher finds evidence of global warming on Neptune's largest moon]," [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]], June 24, 1998. Accessed May 9, 2008.</ref> | | Triton is also the coldest object on record in the solar system, with a mean temperature of only 34.5 kelvins. This is probably due to Triton's unusually high geometric albedo, which causes it to reflect away energy from the Sun that it might otherwise absorb as heat.<ref name=Arnett/> Yet in the decade since Voyager 2's flyby of Triton in 1989, Triton's trace atmosphere thickened, and its mean temperature rose by two to three kelvins, a radical proportional warming. This was probably due to Triton's unusual orbital inclination, and the exposure of its south pole to more solar radiation than usual.<ref name=mit>"[http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/1998/triton.html MIT researcher finds evidence of global warming on Neptune's largest moon]," [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]], June 24, 1998. Accessed May 9, 2008.</ref> |