The Solar System - Word Search - PUZZLE #29 PROTEUS - August 2025

PUZZLE #29 - PROTEUS 

IN-CONTEXT WORD DEFINITIONS

Polyhedral: Proteus has a polyhedral shape, meaning it is irregular and blocky rather than spherical. This shape suggests it lacks enough gravity to pull itself into a smooth, round form.

Inner Moon: Proteus is the largest of Neptune’s inner moons, meaning it orbits closer to Neptune than Triton and the other outer moons. Despite its size, it remains much smaller than Triton.

Pharos: Pharos is a prominent crater on Proteus. Named after the ancient lighthouse of Alexandria, this large impact crater helps reveal Proteus’s geological history and surface characteristics.

Dark Surface: Proteus has a dark surface, reflecting very little sunlight. Its low albedo suggests it is covered with dark, carbon-rich material or space weathered ice, making it one of the darkest moons in the outer solar system.

Icy Body: Proteus is an icy body, composed primarily of water ice mixed with rock. Its composition is similar to many outer solar system moons, making it cold and geologically inactive.

Debris Disk: After Triton’s capture, a debris disk—a ring of dust and fragments—may have formed around Neptune. Proteus could have formed through accretion within this debris disk as material clumped together.

Accretion: Accretion is the process by which Proteus formed, accumulating material from the surrounding debris disk over time, growing larger by collecting ice and rock particles.

Equatorial Orbit: Proteus orbits Neptune close to the planet’s equatorial plane, meaning it travels around Neptune’s equator rather than a tilted or inclined orbit.

Hippocamp: Hippocamp is a small moon discovered orbiting near Proteus. It is much smaller and was likely formed from debris ejected by impacts on Proteus or other moons, sharing a close orbital neighborhood.

Secret Word: Proteus’s existence and orbit may be related to the capture of Triton by Neptune. Triton’s arrival likely disrupted Neptune’s original moon system, and Proteus could be a remnant or re-accreted moon formed from debris after this event.