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The spacecraft verified the existence of a magnetic field surrounding the planet and discovered that the field was offset from the centre and tilted in a manner similar to the field around Uranus. Neptune's rotation period was determined using measurements of radio emissions and Voyager 2 showed that Neptune had a surprisingly active weather ...
A celestial object's axial tilt indicates whether the object's rotation is prograde or retrograde. Axial tilt is the angle between an object's rotation axis and a line perpendicular to its orbital plane passing through the object's centre. An object with an axial tilt up to 90 degrees is rotating in the same direction as its primary.
An animation explaining why the planet Mercury may appear to move "backwards", or retrograde across Earth's sky. Apparent retrograde motion is the apparent motion of a planet in a direction opposite to that of other bodies within its system, as observed from a particular vantage point.
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Earth's rotation axis moves with respect to the fixed stars (inertial space); the components of this motion are precession and nutation. It also moves with respect to Earth's crust; this is called polar motion. Precession is a rotation of Earth's rotation axis, caused primarily by external torques from the gravity of the Sun, Moon and other bodies.
The Great Dark Spot was captured by NASA's Voyager 2 space probe in Neptune's southern hemisphere. The dark, elliptically shaped spot (with initial dimensions of 13,000 × 6,600 km, or 8,100 × 4,100 mi), was about the same size as Earth, and was similar in general appearance to Jupiter's Great Red Spot.
Seven planets are aligning in the night sky this week, creating a brief chance to see a "planetary parade.". Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune and Uranus could all be visible with ...
Astronomers have used telescope data to color-correct Voyager 2 images of Neptune and Uranus, revealing that the planets have a similar greenish blue hue. Color-corrected images reveal accurate ...