Aster › Space program › Hippocamp
Hippocamp
Position on the route: 71/130 · level needed 244 · journey (Mk0 engine) 50.1 h
By the numbers
| Diameter | ≈ 35 km |
|---|---|
| Year | 22.8 hours |
| Distance | 105,300 km |
| Found | 2013, Hubble |
The story
Hippocamp is Neptune’s smallest known moon. Mark Showalter found it in 2013 by reprocessing Hubble images; even Voyager 2 had missed it. It is named for Poseidon’s sea-horse and was known as ‘S/2004 N 1’.
Its orbit lies right next to the big moon Proteus, so it is thought to have formed from a piece knocked off Proteus by a big comet impact. Neptune’s small inner moons are renewed by such collisions.
Missions
- Hubble (2013): the discovery
Colony note
Very small; an observation outpost.
What probes bring back
- Neptune’s smallest known moon (≈ 35 km), found in Hubble images in 2013; it may be a chip knocked off Proteus.
- Named for the sea-horse of Poseidon.