Triton: Fascinating Moon, Likely Ocean World, Compelling Destination!

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.