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Thomas & Veverka 1991
Thomas, P. and Veverka, J. (1991). Neptune’s small inner satellites. Journal of Geophysical Research 96: doi: 10.1029/91JA01461. issn: 0148-0227.

Voyager 2 images revealed six small satellites orbiting within five planetary radii of Neptune. The largest, Proteus (1989N1), has a mean radius of 208¿8 km; the smallest, Naiad (1989N6), is 29¿6 km in radius. The four satellites for which resonable radius measurements can be made all have geometric albedos (not accounting for opposition effects) of 0.06 of 0.48 &mgr;m. The albedos and phase coefficients of these satellites are very smilar to those measured for the inner satellites of Uranus but are quite distinct from the values of Nereid (p≂0.16--0.20, &bgr;=0.028 magnitude/degree) as determined by Thomas et al. (this issue). Collar measurements (0.4 to 0.6 &mgr;m) of Proteus show a neutral color. The two largest satellites are resolved as irregular objects and have limb roughness comparable to those of similar-sized satellites of other planets. One image of Proteus shows a 150-km crater with some overlapping small craters; this feature allows measurements of a rotation rate consistent with a synchronous period. The irregular shape and heavily cratered, photometrically bland surface of Proteus are consistent with characteristics of a primitive, undifferentiated object. Evidently, Proteus has escaped the tidal heating believed to have been responsible for the remarkable geologic processes on the similar-sized bodies Miranda and Enceladus and perhaps Mimas. ¿American Geophysical Union 1991

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Keywords
Planetology, Solid Surface Planets, General or miscellaneous, Planetology, Solid Surface Planets, Origin and evolution, Planetology, Solid Surface Planets, Physical properties of materials
Journal
Journal of Geophysical Research
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American Geophysical Union
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