May 1, 1949: The discovery of Nereid
Elisa Neckar
On May 1, 1949, astronomer Gerard Kuiper spotted a new moon of Neptune while examining photographic plates from McDonald Observatory’s 82-inch telescope. It would be the last moon discovered at that planet until Voyager 2 flew by in 1989. Kuiper proposed calling it Nereid, after the water nymphs who attended Neptune in mythology. Kuiper had Continue reading "May 1, 1949: The discovery of Nereid" The post May 1, 1949: The discovery of Nereid appeared first on Astronomy Magazine .