Despina, a moon of Neptune

Despina is a small moon of Neptune. It is one of Neptune's inner moons and is the third closest moon to orbit the planet. Despina has a diameter of approximately 156 kilometres (97 miles). It orbits Neptune at a distance of just over 52,500 kilometres (32,600 miles). A length of an orbit takes only eight hours which means that it orbits Neptune faster than the planet spins.

Despina orbits very closely to one of Neptune's rings, its Le Verrier ring. It is considered to be a shepherd moon, a moon which holds the materials in the ring in place.

Despina is believed to be the fragments of an earlier moon that was destroyed when Neptune captured its largest moon Triton. Parts of that destroyed moon joined back together to form Despina and some of Neptune's other inner moons.

It is thought that Despina itself will be destroyed at some point in its very distant future. Its orbit is likely to decay which will bring it closer and closer to Neptune until it either falls into Neptune's atmosphere or gets torn apart by gravitational forces. It will possibly form a ring.