Neptune is the eighth planet from the sun in our solar system. This blue gas giant is far larger than Earth, at more than 17 times Earth's mass and nearly 58 times Earth's volume, according to NASA. Neptune's rocky core is surrounded by a slushy fluid mix of water, ammonia and methane ice.

Astronomer Galileo Galilei was one of the first people to identify Neptune as a space object, however, he assumed it was a star based on its slow movement.

Around two hundred years later, in 1846, French astronomer Urbain Jean Joseph Le Verrier calculated the approximate location of Neptune by studying gravity-induced disturbances in the motions of Uranus, according to a synopsis written by researchers at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland

In accordance with all the other planets seen in the sky, and as suggested by Le Verrier, this new world was given a name from Greek and Roman mythology — Neptune, the Roman god of the sea.

Only one mission has flown by Neptune — Voyager 2 in 1989. Today, there are still many mysteries about the cool, blue planet, such as why its winds are so speedy and why its magnetic field is offset. While Neptune is of interest because it is in our own solar system, astronomers are also interested in learning more about the planet to assist with exoplanet studies. Specifically, astronomers are interested in learning about the habitability of worlds that are bigger than Earth.

Like Earth, Neptune has a rocky core, but it has a much thicker atmosphere that prohibits the existence of life as we know it. Astronomers are still trying to figure out at what point a planet is so large that it may pick up a lot of gas in the area, making it difficult or impossible for life to exist.

WHAT DOES NEPTUNE LOOK LIKE?

Neptune is the fourth largest planet in the solar system, with a radius 15,599.4 miles (24,622 kilometres) — the distance between its core and the surface. However, Neptune is a spheroid shape, meaning that it bulges around its equator, making the the radius to the pole slightly smaller.

The planet's cloud cover has an especially vivid blue tint that is partly due to an as-yet-unidentified compound and the result of the absorption of red light by methane in the planet's mostly hydrogen-helium atmosphere.

By studying the cloud formations on the gas giant, scientists were able to calculate that a day on Neptune lasts just under 16 hours long.

Neptune's elliptical, oval-shaped orbit keeps the planet an average distance from the sun of almost 2.8 billion miles (4.5 billion kilometers), or roughly 30 times as far away as Earth, making it invisible to the naked eye. A single orbit of sun takes Neptune 165 Earth years to complete.

Neptune is surrounded by unusual rings, which aren't uniform, but possess bright thick clumps of dust called arcs.

NEPTUNE'S MOONS

Neptune has 14 known moons, named after lesser sea gods and nymphs from Greek mythology. The largest by far is Triton, whose discovery on Oct. 10, 1846, was indirectly enabled by beer — amateur astronomer William Lassell, who discovered Triton, used the funds he made as a brewer to finance his telescopes.

Triton is the only spherical moon of Neptune. The planet's other 13 moons are irregularly shaped. Triton is also unique in being the only large moon in the solar system to circle its planet in a direction opposite to its planet's rotation — this "retrograde orbit" suggests that Triton may once have been a dwarf planet that Neptune captured rather than forming in place, according to NASA. Neptune's gravity is dragging Triton closer to the planet, meaning that millions of years from now, Triton will come close enough for gravitational forces to rip it apart.

Triton is extremely cold, with temperatures on its surface reaching about minus 391 degrees F (minus 235 degrees C), making it one of the coldest places in the solar system. Nevertheless, Voyager 2 detected geysers spewing icy matter upward more than 5 miles (8 km), showing its interior appears warm. Scientists are investigating the possibility of a subsurface ocean on the icy moon. In 2010, scientists discovered seasons on Triton.

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  • Pain_Disliker [he/him]
    ·
    2 years ago

    big oofs sometimes you've got to lead with the stuff that filters libs