High-Precision Measurements of the Brightness Variation of Nereid

Abstract

Abstract Nereid, the outer satellite of Neptune, has a highly eccentric prograde orbit with a semimajor axis of larger than 200 in units of Neptune's radius, and is classified as an irregular satellite. Although the capture origin of irregular satellites has been widely accepted, several previous studies suggest that Nereid was formed in the circumplanetary disk of Neptune and ejected outward to the present location by Triton. A series of our photometric observations confirm that Nereid's rotation period, 11.5 hr, is stable and nonchaotic, as indicated by Grav, Holman, and Kavelaars (2003, ApJ, 591, L71). The optical colors of Nereid are indistinguishable from those of trans-Neptunian objects and Centaurs, especially from these objects with neutral colors. We also found the consistency of Nereid's rotation period based on the size–rotation distribution of small outer bodies. It is likely that Nereid originated as an immigrant body captured from the heliocentric orbit that was 4–5 AU away from Neptune's orbit.