In Greek mythology, Despina ("mistress") was a nymph, the daughter of Poseidon and Demeter. It was also used as an epithet for Aphrodite, Persephone and Demeter.


Despina is the third known moon of Neptune. It was discovered in 1989 by Voyager 2, and very little is known about it. It is irregularly shaped and shows no sign of any geological modification. Since its orbit is below Neptune's synchronous orbit radius it is slowly decaying due to tidal forces and will one day break up into a planetary ring or impact on Neptune's surface.

  • Orbital radius: 52,600 km
  • Diameter: 148 km
  • Mass: Unknown
  • Orbital period: 0.334655 days
  • Orbital inclination: 0.07°