Larissa, a moon of Neptune
45,701 miles
121 miles
Larissa is a small moon of Neptune. It is one of Neptune's inner moons and is the fifth moon from the planet. Larissa has a diameter of approximately 194 kilometres (121 miles) and is the fourth largest moon of Neptune. It travels around Neptune in a nearly circular orbit at a distance of about 73,500 kilometres (45,700 miles). A length of an orbit takes 13 hours which means that it orbits Neptune faster than the planet spins.
In Greek mythology, Larissa is a nymph from Thessaly, a daughter of Pelasgus. She was a lover of the god of the sea, Poseidon. Poseidon is the Greek equivalent of the Roman god Neptune. Larissa and Poseidon had three sons. Achaios, Phthios and Pelasgus. In modern-day Greece, Larissa is the capital city in the Thessaly region.
As Neptune is the Roman god of the sea, all of its moons have water-related names.
Before it received its official name by the International Astronomical Union on 16th September 1991, Larissa was identified as S/1981 N1, S/1989 N 2. It is sometimes referred to as Neptune VII.
