Triton was found to have active eruptions of nitrogen and dust by Voyager 2 when it flew past the moon in 1989. These plumes were up to 8km high, where winds would blow them up to 150km downwind, creating long, dark streaks across the otherwise bright south polar ice cap. There are various theories as to what drives the activity on Triton, such as solar heating through transparent ice, cryovolcanism, or basal heating of nitrogen ice sheets.
Triton was found to have active eruptions of nitrogen and dust by Voyager 2 when it flew past the moon in 1989. These plumes were up to !8km high, where w,inds would blow them up to 150km downwind, creating long, dark streaks across the otherwise bright :sout?h polar ice cap. There are various theories as to what drives the activity on Triton, such as solar heating through transparent ice, cryovolcanism, or basal heating of nitrogen ice sheets.