加州大学圣地亚哥分校的行星科学家Ryleigh Davis及其研究团队利用詹姆斯韦伯太空望远镜的数据，对海王星的三颗内月和行星环进行了分析，发现了令人意外的矿物成分。研究人员在拉里萨、盖拉忒亚两颗月球以及行星环中检测到了叶硅酸盐黏土矿物的迹象[1]。这一发现发表在《科学进展》期刊上[1]。
这些黏土矿物的存在提出了一个谜团：形成这类矿物需要液态水，但这些小型冰冷月球上不可能产生液态水[1]。研究团队的分析支持了一个理论——海王星曾经拥有一个类似于天王星的庞大月球系统，但在约数十亿年前三叶神被捕获时遭到毁灭[1]。目前，三叶神是海王星最大的卫星，占其卫星总质量的99%以上，且以逆行轨道运行，这与其他月球的运行方向相反[1]。
研究团队还在三颗月球和行星环上发现了一种无法识别的神秘矿物[1]。海王星已知有16颗卫星和5个行星环[1]。自1989年旅行者2号造访海王星以来，还没有其他航天器对该行星进行过直接观测[1]。
Researchers analyzing data from the James Webb Space Telescope have uncovered evidence of clay minerals on Neptune's inner moons and rings, offering new insights into the planet's unusual satellite configuration [1]. A team led by planetary scientist Ryleigh Davis from the University of California, San Diego discovered silicate clay minerals on Larissa and Galatea, two of Neptune's moons, as well as on the planet's rings [1]. Since these clay minerals require liquid water to form, their presence on these small, frigid moons poses a puzzle—the moons themselves could never have generated the conditions necessary for clay formation [1].
The findings support a leading theory about Neptune's dramatic history [1]. The planet hosts 16 known moons and 5 ring systems, but its satellite structure is dominated by Triton, which accounts for over 99 percent of the total mass of Neptune's moon system and orbits in a retrograde direction, opposite to the planet's rotation [1]. Scientists believe that Neptune once possessed a large moon system similar to that of Uranus, but this original configuration was destroyed billions of years ago when Triton was captured [1]. The detected clay minerals, along with unidentified mystery minerals found across all three inner moons and the rings, suggest that this primordial collision and restructuring left geological traces on the remnants [1]. The research was published in the journal Science Advances [1]. Voyager 2 remains the only spacecraft to have visited Neptune, conducting its encounter in 1989 [1].