Completed Orbit

This year, Neptune will complete its first orbit around the sun since its discovery.

Because Neptune is 30 times farther away from the Sun than Earth, a year there is ridiculously long. One year on Neptune (one revolution around the Sun) is equal to almost 165 Earth years! Neptune was first discovered in 1846, and in August 2011 an entire Neptunian year will have passed since then. This will also be during Neptune's Opposition, the best time to see the planet from Earth.


Technically, Neptune was first observed before 1846. Galileo first found Neptune in 1612 and mistook it for a star. We know now that he was actually looking at Neptune. In 1846, Galle used a telescope to locate Neptune using calculations from other astronomers that approximated where an 8th planet should be. Since then, we have been able to observe Neptune with the Voyager 2 spacecraft.

Read more about the history of Neptune's discovery.

Neptune Atmosphere

Neptune's atmosphere is primarily composed of hydrogen and helium along with traces of methane. The methane in the atmosphere, in part, accounts for the planet's blue appearance. The core of Neptune is composed of iron, nickel and silicates, and the temperature may be −218 °C. Neptune is the coldest and cloudiest planet in the solar system.

This is the Inner part of Neptune

Spaceship

Neptune has been visited by only one spacecraft, Voyager 2, which flew by the planet on August 25, 1989. Neptune has a faint and fragmented ring system, which may have been detected during the 1960s but was only indisputably confirmed by Voyager 2.

In the summer of 1989, NASA's Voyager 2 became the first spacecraft to observe the planet Neptune, its final planetary target. Passing about 4,950 kilometers (3,000 miles) above Neptune's north pole, Voyager 2 made its closest approach to any planet since leaving Earth 12 years earlier. Five hours later, Voyager 2 passed about 40,000 kilometers (25,000 miles) from Neptune's largest moon, Triton, the last solid body the spacecraft will have an opportunity to study.

Voyager 2, launched August 20, 1977, visited Jupiter in 1979, Saturn in 1981 and Uranus in 1986 before making its closest approach to Neptune on August 25, 1989. Voyager 2 traveled 12 years at an average velocity of 19 kilometers per second (about 42,000 miles an hour) to reach Neptune, which is 30 times farther from the Sun than Earth. Voyager observed Neptune almost continuously from June to October 1989. Now Voyager 2 is also headed out of the solar system, diving below the ecliptic plane at an angle of about 48° and a rate of about 470 million kilometers a year.

What is Neptune?

Do you know about planet named Neptune?
It's a planet for your better future. See new amazing experience on Neptune!

Neptune its the 8th planet from the sun in the Solar System. Neptune's atmosphere is primarily composed of hydrogen and helium along with traces of methane. The methane in the atmosphere, in part, accounts for the planet's blue appearance. Neptune also has the strongest winds of any planet in the solar system, measured as high as 2,100 kilometers per hour (1,300 mph).

Neptune and Uranus are often considered a sub-class of gas giant termed "ice giants", due to their smaller size and higher concentrations of volatiles. But dont worry, you'll be save in this planet! You will be save here because Neptune had a very thick atmosphere! That's why Neptune is one of Jovian Planets (Uranus, Saturn, Jupiter is also included as a Jovian planet)

Neptune, the 8th Planet in Our Solar System

Mass: 1.0243×1026 kg ,17.147 Earths

Rotation Period: 16.11 hours

Revolution Period: 165 years

Satellite: 13 satellites

Neptune and It 'Twin', Uranus

The Twins: They're same!
Uranus and Neptune usually called 'twin' by many people. Not just because they were in a very close distance and have almost same colors and characteristic, they also both called 'ice giants' because they're very cold planet. But different than Pluto, this two planets not just cold - they were big too, that's why those planets called ice giants. They were also two of four Jovian planet which are characterized by large sizes and masses but low mean densities (compared with Earth). As with Uranus, Neptune's distance from the Sun and its relatively small size compared to Jupiter and Saturn ensure that the planet is below the freezing point of its main constituents.

This is Uranus

The Twins: Which one better?
If they both are compared, I will choose Neptune, because besides I was selling and advertising this planet for sale (haha ^^), this planet had better (blue) color than the pale Uranus. Uranus is slightly larger than Neptune, but Neptune is considerably more massive and denser than Uranus. Uranus had 27 (or more!) satellite, but too much isn't good also, right?

Neptune had 13 satellites but one of them, Triton (one of Neptune's satellites) was bigger than any satellites around Uranus! Triton is the coldest object that has been measured in the solar system. Neptune's second known satellite, the irregular moon Nereid, has one of the most eccentric orbits of any satellite in the solar system. Neptune is the first planet that known by mathematical prediction rather than regular observation.Unexpected changes in the orbit of Uranus led astronomers to deduce the gravitational perturbation of an unknown planet. Neptune was found within a degree of the predicted position.