What does Triton’s density reveal about its interior?

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Moons of Neptune: Triton — Triton Image of Triton, Neptune's largest satellite, captured by a camera aboard Voyager 2, 1989.

Triton’s mean density of 2.06 grams per cubic centimeter indicates that its interior is composed primarily of a water-ice mantle surrounding a denser, rocky core.1

This composition is the result of a process called differentiation, which likely occurred after Triton was captured by Neptune. During this period, intense tidal interactions caused significant internal heating, melting the moon's interior and allowing denser materials to sink to the center while more volatile materials rose toward the surface. The presence of this water-ice interior is further supported by surface features, such as intersecting fractures, which suggest that the expansion of freezing subsurface water cracked the moon's outer crust.1