Curious ElfNeptune has always been a planet that fascinates people. This is because Neptune is the farthest planet from Earth, and it’s also the smallest of all the planets in our solar system. Not only that, but Neptune was discovered by using maths and calculations, not just by looking up into space!
That’s right–before we had telescopes to look at planets like Uranus or Venus, mathematicians could discover new ones with their equations. In this blog post, we will discuss ten fascinating facts about our blue marble neighbor-Neptune!
Let’s take a look at these facts.
Neptune is the most distant planet
Neptune is the fourth planet from our Sun. It orbits the Earth and takes about 165 years to complete one orbit, which means that its location in space changes over time due to a phenomenon called precession. This happens because Neptune’s year is not 365 days long–it lasts nearly 600 earth-years! On top of this, Neptune’s orbit is elliptical.
Neptune’s surface gravity is similar to Earth’s
Neptune has a surface gravity that is very similar to Earth’s. This means that humans would be able to walk on Neptune without any issues-except for the lack of breathable atmosphere! On top of this, Neptune’s atmospheric pressure at its surface is about one-tenth what we experience here on Earth. This means that Neptune’s atmosphere is mostly hydrogen gas, methane, and other compounds.
Neptune is the strongest winds of Solar System
Neptune has the strongest winds of any planet in our solar system! This is because Neptune’s atmosphere does not dissipate energy. In addition to this, storms can form on its surface very easily-especially when it interacts with other planets and their atmospheres.
Neptune has visited up closely only once
Only one spacecraft-Voyager II, has visited Neptune. This is because it’s so far from Earth, and the cost of getting there would be astronomical! However, in 1989 Voyager II went past Neptune at a distance of just 50,000 miles away, and Neptune is the Smallest of the Gas Giants.
Credit: NASA/JPL
Neptune has rings
which creates ice crystals. These ice crystals are then pulled into orbit around Neptune and form ring structures discovered by the Voyager II spacecraft back in 1989.
It is the minutest of the gas giants
Neptune is the smallest of all gas giants. It’s about two-thirds as wide as Earth and only one-eighth its mass! This means that Neptune is very delicate in comparison to other planets like Saturn or Jupiter. Still, this does not stop it from having some pretty powerful winds even when compared to these other planets.
Neptune mostly captures its largest moon, Triton
Triton is Neptune’s largest moon, and it orbits very close to the planet. Triton has an orbital period of just three days! This means that when we observe Triton from Earth, its movement looks much faster than other planets in our solar system with their satellites. It also means that because this moon takes so long to orbit Neptune, the gravitational pull on Triton is much stronger than any other satellite in our solar system.
Neptune’s discovery is still a controversy
The discovery of Neptune is still a controversial subject. The first person to spot the planet was Galileo in 1612, but he recorded it as just another star! In 1846 Urbain Le Verrier predicted where this new planet should be based on mathematical calculations and observations from other planets-and his predictions were correct! This discovery set the stage for all future discoveries of planets in our solar system.
It is the coldest planet of Solar System
Neptune is the coldest planet in our solar system, with an average temperature of -388.84 degrees Fahrenheit! That’s almost as cold as liquid nitrogen at room temperature-and it means that Neptune has a very thick ice sheet on its surface (about one mile deep). This ice sheet absorbs light from the Sun and creates a blue sky-like appearance in Neptune’s atmosphere.
Not a single plan is there to visit Neptune again
Despite being one of the most interesting planets in our solar system, there are currently no plans to revisit Neptune. This is because it’s so far from Earth, and the cost would be astronomical! We’re not sure if we’ll ever return-but that means all these facts about Neptune will remain a mystery for now.
We hope that you enjoyed reading about Neptune’s fascinating facts.
