‘Extremely understudied’ moon Nereid may hold incredible tie to Neptune, study shows

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Neptune’s far-flung moon Nereid may be the last of the planet’s original companions that managed to survive a cosmic crash, scientists reported Wednesday.

Sixteen known moons circle Neptune, our solar system’s eighth and most distant planet.

Neptune’s biggest moon, Triton, barged in from the solar system’s frigid outskirts billions of years ago, scattering the planet’s original moons and putting them on destructive collision courses.

This image, released by NASA, shows the Voyager view of Nereid, a satellite of Neptune, obtained on Aug. 24, 1989. NASA via AP

A team led by the California Institute of Technology used NASA’s Webb