ARC-1989-AC89-7011

Range : 5.4 million km (3.3 million miles) Features as small as 100 km (62 miles) across can be seen in this color image of Neptune's satellite Triton, photographed by Voyager 2. Triton's overall pinkish color may be due to reddish materials produced by irradiation of methane gas and ice on the satellite. The dark areas near the top of the image seem to be part of a belt of dark markings observed near Trition's equator at different longitudes. Generally, darker areas on Triton appear to be somewhat redder in color than brighter areas. The central longitude in the image is 123 degrees. Here the south pole is at about 6 o'clock, approximately 1/6th of the way up from the bottom. The color image was made from three black-and-white frames, taken through clear, violet and green filters.

Photographer JPL