Neptune of the sea, identified with the Greek Poseidon. The demand for a mythological name seemed to be in keeping with the nomenclature of the other planets, all of which, except for Earth, were named for deities in Greek and Roman mythology. Most languages today, even in countries that have no direct link to Greco-Roman culture, use some variant of the name "Neptune" for the planet. However, in Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese, and Korean, the planet's name was translated as "sea king star" (), because Neptune was the god of the sea. In Mongolian, Neptune is called "Dalain Van" (Далайн ван), reflecting
Moons of Neptune Moons of Neptune Neptune has 14 known moons, which are named for minor water deities in Greek mythology. By far the largest of them is Triton, discovered by William Lassell on October 10, 1846, 17 days after the discovery of Neptune itself; over a century passed before the discovery of the second natural satellite, Nereid. Neptune's outermost moon Neso, which has an orbital period of about 26 Julian years, orbits further from its planet than any other moon in the Solar System. Triton is unique among moons of planetary mass in that its orbit is retrograde to Neptune's rotation and