Triton: Fascinating Moon, Likely Ocean World, Compelling Destination!
C. J. Hansen, Julie Castillo‐Rogez, W. M. Grundy, Jason D. Hofgartner, Emily S. Martin, K. L. Mitchell, F. Nimmo, Tom Nordheim, C. S. Paty, L. C. Quick, J. H. Roberts, Kirby Runyon, P. Schenk, S. A. Stern, O. M. Umurhan
Abstract
Abstract Triton is an important signpost in understanding the diverse populations of both ocean worlds and Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs). As a likely ocean world, it is unique by virtue of its kidnapped history from the Kuiper Belt: its large orbital inclination makes it the only ocean world thought to be primarily heated by obliquity tides. It is volatile-rich due to its formation in the outer solar system and its unusual surface geology may be the product of cryovolcanism. Observations from New Horizons and Cassini motivate re-examination of Triton data sets and models, with value for comparative planetology of ocean worlds and KBOs, most notably with Europa, Enceladus, Titan, and Pluto. We re-explore old data sets with the new perspective of the importance of ocean worlds in our solar system and the search for life.