美国宇航局詹姆斯·韦伯太空望远镜的最新观测表明，海王星的内层小卫星拉里萨和盖拉提亚以及海王星环上存在层状硅酸盐矿物（黏土矿物），这些矿物仅能在液态水的作用下形成[1]。加州理工学院的研究团队在分析这一发现后提出，这些矿物来自于远古时期被摧毁的巨大冰卫星的深层内部[1]。
研究人员推断，这些古老卫星可能在海王星捕获三王星时的灾难性事件中被摧毁，只有约1%的碎片在这场宇宙灾难中留存在海王星系统内[1]。尽管表面并未发现水冰的直接证据，但富镁硅酸盐矿物的存在强烈暗示了远古液态水与岩石相互作用的痕迹[1]。该研究成果已发表在《科学进展》期刊2026年第12卷第31期上[1]。
The James Webb Space Telescope has detected layered silicate minerals, including clay minerals, on Neptune's inner small moons Larissa and Galatea as well as on the planet's rings [1]. These clay minerals can only form in the presence of liquid water [1], yet the surfaces of these bodies show no visible water ice [1]. Researchers from Caltech, led by Ryleigh Davis and Matthew Belyakov, propose that these minerals originated from the deep interiors of massive ancient ice moons that were destroyed during a catastrophic event [1].
The team suggests that these primordial large moons were destroyed when a planetary body was captured by Neptune [1]. During this violent encounter that reshaped Neptune's satellite system, approximately 99 percent of the resulting debris was ejected from the system, with only about 1 percent remaining [1]. The minerals now observable on Larissa, Galatea, and Neptune's rings are interpreted as remnants of the interiors of these long-destroyed worlds. The findings were published in Science Advances in December 2026 [1].