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Neptune is the eighth and farthest known planet from the Sun. It is the fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 times the mass of Earth. Compared to its fellow ice giant Uranus, Neptune is slightly more massive, but denser and smaller.
Discovery observation: 24 September 1846. The 9" refractor which was used to discover Neptune is at Deutsches Museum in Munich today. Le Verrier was unaware that his public confirmation of Adams' private computations had set in motion a British search for the purported planet.
Outline of Neptune. The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Neptune: Neptune – eighth and farthest known planet from the Sun in the Solar System. In the Solar System, it is the fourth-largest planet by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. Neptune is 17 times the mass of Earth ...
The rings of Neptune are made of extremely dark material, likely organic compounds processed by radiation, similar to those found in the rings of Uranus. [5] The proportion of dust in the rings (between 20% and 70%) is high, [5] while their optical depth is low to moderate, at less than 0.1. [6] Uniquely, the Adams ring includes five distinct ...
Neptune was discovered in 1846 and is located 30 times farther from the sun than Earth. The planet's 164-year orbit takes it through some of the darkest and most remote regions of the outer solar ...
Neptune has been directly explored by one space probe, Voyager 2, in 1989. As of 2024, there are no confirmed future missions to visit the Neptunian system, although a tentative Chinese mission has been planned for launch in 2024. [1] NASA, ESA, and independent academic groups have proposed future scientific missions to visit Neptune.
In order of distance from Neptune, the regular moons are Naiad, Thalassa, Despina, Galatea, Larissa, Hippocamp, and Proteus. All but the outer two are within Neptune- synchronous orbit (Neptune's rotational period is 0.6713 day or 16 hours [20]) and thus are being tidally decelerated. Naiad, the closest regular moon, is also the second smallest ...
The Great Dark Spot (also known as GDS-89, for Great Dark Spot, 1989) was one of a series of dark spots on Neptune similar in appearance to Jupiter 's Great Red Spot. In 1989, GDS-89 was the first Great Dark Spot on Neptune to be observed by NASA 's Voyager 2 space probe. Like Jupiter's spot, the Great Dark Spots are anticyclonic storms.