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Bruce Murray Space Image Library

Despina eclipses and transits Neptune

Despina eclipses and transits Neptune
Despina eclipses and transits Neptune This view of Despina eclipsing and transiting Neptune is composed of four frames captured nine minutes apart on August 24, 1989 from 20:00 to 20:27 through blue, orange, violet, and green filters. NASA / JPL / Ted Stryk, Roane State CC

Despina, 148 kilometers across, is a tiny moon of Neptune located within its ring system and discovered by Voyager 2 in 1989 as the spacecraft approached for its flyby. The images were originally captured to study the colors of Neptune's clouds; the fact that Despina and its shadow were visible in the images was discovered by amateur image processor Ted Stryk in 2009.

The full-size image is a 16-bit PNG.