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Discovery of Neptune- who found and discovered the eighth planet of the solar system: a description of the history of the search, the role of Bouvard, Adams, Le Verrier and Galle, the meaning of the name.
Neptune is located too far from the Sun and Earth, so it can only be found through telescopic observations. How did the discovery of Neptune happen? The discovery story began with Alexis Bouvard. He created mathematical calculations where he deduced the trajectory of the orbital path of Uranus. But optical observations showed a discrepancy. Scientists began to suspect that a large object was hiding nearby.
John Adams and Urbain Le Verrier took up the study. They tried separately to convince the scientific world of the existence of the planet. Then Johann Halle used Le Verrier's calculations and found Neptune 1° from his instructions and 12° from Adams's indications. Both claimed the right of discovery, which caused a dispute.
The society agreed that both deserved honors. And in 1846, they were officially recognized as those who received the honor of discovering the planet Neptune. The planet received its name in honor of the Roman deity who ruled the seas.
Neptune is the eighth planet included in our solar system. Scientists discovered it first, based on constant observations of the sky and deep mathematical research. Urbain Joseph Le Verrier, after lengthy discussions, shared his observations with the Berlin Observatory, where they were studied by Johann Gottfried Halle. It was there that Neptune was discovered on September 23, 1846. Seventeen days later, his companion, Triton, was found.
The planet Neptune is located at a distance of 4.5 billion km from the Sun. It takes 165 years to complete its orbit. It cannot be seen with the naked eye, since it is located at a significant distance from the Earth.
The strongest winds reign in Neptune's atmosphere; according to some scientists, they can reach speeds of 2100 km/h. In 1989, during a flyby of Voyager 2, a Great Dark Spot was discovered in the southern hemisphere of the planet, exactly the same as the Great Red Spot on the planet Jupiter. In the upper atmosphere, Neptune's temperature is close to 220 degrees Celsius. The temperature at the center of Neptune varies from 5400°K to 7000-7100°C, which corresponds to the temperature on the surface of the Sun and the internal temperature of most planets. Neptune has a fragmented and faint ring system that was discovered back in the 1960s but officially confirmed in 1989 by Voyager 2.
The history of the discovery of the planet Neptune
On December 28, 1612, Galileo Galilei explored Neptune, and then on January 29, 1613. But in both cases, he mistook Neptune for a fixed star that was conjunct Jupiter in the sky. That is why Galileo was not given credit for the discovery of Neptune.
In December 1612, during the first observation, Neptune was at a stationary point, and on the day of observation it began to move backward. Retrograde motion is observed when our planet overtakes the outer planet along its axis. Because Neptune was close to station, its motion was too weak for Galileo to see it with his small telescope.
Alexis Bouvard demonstrated astronomical tables of the orbit of the planet Uranus in 1821. Later observations showed strong deviations from the tables he created. Taking this circumstance into account, the scientist suggested that the unknown body with its gravity disturbs the orbit of Uranus. He sent his calculations to the royal astronomer Sir George Airy, who asked Kuh for clarification. He had already begun to draft an answer, but for some reason did not send it and did not insist on working on this issue.
In 1845-1846, Urbain Le Verrier, independently of Adams, quickly carried out his calculations, but his compatriots did not share his enthusiasm. After reviewing Le Verrier's first estimate of Neptune's longitude and its similarity with Adams' estimate, Airy managed to persuade James Chiles, director of the Cambridge Observatory, to begin a search that lasted from August to September. Chiles actually observed Neptune twice, but because he delayed processing the results until a later date, he was unable to identify the planet in a timely manner.
At this time, Le Verrier convinced the astronomer Johann Gottfried Halle, working at the Berlin Observatory, to start searching. Observatory student Heinrich d'Arre suggested to Halle that he compare a drawn map of the sky in the area of Le Verrier's predicted location with the view of the sky at the moment in order to observe the movement of the planet relative to the fixed stars. On the first night, the planet was discovered after approximately 1 hour of searching. Johann Encke, together with the director of the observatory, continued to observe the part of the sky where the planet was located for 2 nights, as a result of which they discovered its movement relative to the stars and were able to verify that it was in fact a new planet. On September 23, 1846, Neptune was discovered. It is within 1° of Le Verrier's coordinates and approximately 12° of the coordinates that were predicted by Adams.
Immediately after the discovery, a dispute ensued between the French and the British over the right to consider the discovery of the planet their own. As a result, they came to a consensus and decided to consider Le Verrier and Adams co-discoverers. In 1998, the “Neptune papers” were once again found, which were illegally appropriated by astronomer Olin J. Eggen and kept by him for thirty years. After his death they were found in his possession. Some historians, after reviewing the documents, believe that Adams does not deserve equal rights to discover the planet with Le Verrier. In principle, this has been questioned before, for example, since 1966 by Dennis Rawlins. In the magazine "Dio" he published an article demanding that Adams's equal right to discovery be recognized as theft. "Yes, Adams did some calculations, but he was somewhat unsure about where Neptune was located," Nicholas Collestrum said in 2003.
Origin of the name Neptune
For a certain time after its discovery, the planet Neptune was designated as "Le Verrier's planet" or as the "planet outer of Uranus." The idea of an official name was first put forward by Halle, who proposed the name “Janus”. Chiles in England suggested the name "Ocean".
Le Verrier, claiming that he had the right to name it, proposed to call it Neptune, mistakenly believing that this name was recognized by the French Bureau of Longitudes. The scientist tried to name the planet in October after his own name, Le Verrier, and was supported by the director of the observatory, but the initiative ran into resistance outside France. Almanacs quickly returned the name Herschel (after William Herschel, the discoverer) for Uranus and Le Verrier for the new planet.
But, despite this, Vasily Struve, director of the Pulkovo Observatory, will settle on the name “Neptune”. He announced his decision at the congress of the Imperial Academy of Sciences on December 29, 1846, which took place in St. Petersburg. This name gained support beyond the borders of Russia and very soon became the accepted international name for the planet.
Physical characteristics
Neptune has a mass of 1.0243×1026 kg and acts as an intermediate link between the large gas giants and the Earth. Its weight is seventeen times that of Earth and 1/19 that of Jupiter. As for the equatorial radius of Neptune, it corresponds to 24,764 km, which is almost four times larger than the Earth’s. Uranus and Neptune are often classified as gas giants ("ice giants") due to their high volatile concentrations and smaller size.
Internal structure
It is immediately worth noting that the internal structure of the planet Neptune is similar to the structure of Uranus. The atmosphere makes up approximately 10-20% of the total mass of the planet, the distance from the surface to the atmosphere is 10-20% of the distance from the planet's surface to the core. The pressure near the core can be 10 GPa. Concentrations of ammonia, methane and water have been found in the lower atmosphere.
This hotter and darker region gradually condenses into a superheated liquid mantle, the temperature of which reaches 2000 – 5000 K. The weight of the planet’s mantle is ten to fifteen times that of Earth, according to various estimates, and it is rich in ammonia, water, methane and other compounds. This matter, according to generally accepted terminology, is called icy, even though it is a dense and very hot liquid. This liquid, which has high electrical conductivity, is often called an ocean of aqueous ammonia. Methane at a depth of 7 thousand km decomposes into diamond crystals that “fall” onto the core. Scientists have hypothesized that there is an entire ocean of “diamond liquid.” The planet's core is made of nickel, iron and silicates and weighs 1.2 times more than our planet. In the center, the pressure reaches 7 megabars, which is millions of times higher than on Earth. In the center the temperature reaches 5400 K.
Atmosphere of Neptune
Scientists have discovered helium and waterfall in the upper atmosphere. At this height they are 19% and 80%. In addition, traces of methane can be traced. Methane absorption bands can be traced at wavelengths exceeding 600 nm in the infrared and red parts of the spectrum. As with Uranus, methane's absorption of red light is a key factor in giving Neptune its blue hue, although the bright azure is different from the moderate aquamarine color of Uranus. Since the percentage of methane in the atmosphere is not much different from that of Uranus, scientists speculate that there is some unknown atmospheric component that contributes to the formation of the blue color. The atmosphere is divided into two main regions, namely the lower troposphere, in which there is a decrease in temperature with height, and the stratosphere, where another pattern can be observed - temperature increases with height. The tropopause boundary (located between them) is located at a pressure level of 0.1 bar. At pressure levels below 10-4 - 10-5 microbars, the stratosphere gives way to the thermosphere. Gradually the thermosphere turns into the exosphere. Models of the troposphere suggest that, given altitude, it consists of clouds of approximate compositions. In the pressure zone below 1 bar there are upper-level clouds, where the temperature is conducive to methane condensation.
Clouds of hydrogen sulfide and ammonia form at pressures between 1 and 5 bar. At higher pressures, clouds may consist of ammonium sulfide, ammonia, water and hydrogen sulfide. Deeper down, at a pressure of about 50 bar, clouds of water ice can form in the case of temperatures of 0 °C. Scientists suggest that clouds of hydrogen sulfide and ammonia may be present in this area. In addition, it is possible that clouds of hydrogen sulfide and ammonia may be found in this area.
For such a low temperature, Neptune is too far from the Sun for it to heat the thermosphere with UV radiation. It is possible that this phenomenon is a consequence of atmospheric interaction with ions located in the planet’s magnetic field. Another theory says that the main heating mechanism is gravity waves from the inner regions of Neptune, which subsequently dissipate in the atmosphere. The thermosphere contains traces of carbon monoxide and water brought in from external sources (dust and meteorites).
Neptune Climate
It is from the differences between Uranus and Neptune - the level of meteorological activity. Voyager 2, which flew near uranium in 1986, recorded weak atmospheric activity. Neptune, in contrast to Uranus, exhibited clear weather changes during the 1989 survey.
The planet's weather is characterized by a serious dynamic system of storms. Moreover, the wind speed can sometimes reach about 600 m/s (supersonic speed). While tracking the movement of clouds, a change in wind speed was noticed. Eastward from 20 m/s; in the west - to 325 m/s. As for the upper cloud layer, the wind speed here also varies: along the equator from 400 m/s; at the poles – up to 250 m/s. Moreover, most winds give a direction that is opposite to the rotation of Neptune around its axis. The pattern of winds shows that their direction at high latitudes coincides with the direction of rotation of the planet, and at low latitudes it is completely opposite to it. The difference in the direction of the winds, as scientists believe, is a consequence of the “screen effect” and is not associated with deep atmospheric processes. The content of ethane, methane and acetylene in the atmosphere in the equator region is tens or even hundreds of times higher than the content of these substances in the pole region. This observation gives reason to believe that upwelling exists at Neptune’s equator and closer to the poles. In 2007, scientists noticed that the upper troposphere of the planet's south pole was 10 °C warmer compared to the other part of Neptune, where the average temperature is −200 °C. Moreover, such a difference is quite enough for methane in other areas of the upper atmosphere to be frozen and gradually seep into space at the south pole.
Due to seasonal changes, cloud bands in the planet's southern hemisphere increased in albedo and size. This trend was observed back in 1980; according to experts, it will last until 2020 with the onset of a new season on the planet, which changes every forty years.
Moons of Neptune
Currently, Neptune has thirteen known satellites. The largest of them weighs more than 99.5% of the total mass of all the planet’s satellites. This is Triton, which was discovered by William Lassell seventeen days after the discovery of the planet itself. Triton, unlike other large moons in our solar system, has a retrograde orbit. It is possible that it was captured by Neptune's gravity, and may have been a dwarf planet in the past. It is at a small distance from Neptune to be locked in synchronous rotation. Triton, due to tidal acceleration, is slowly moving in a spiral towards the planet and as a result, when it reaches the Roche limit, it will be destroyed. As a result, a ring will be formed that will be more powerful than the rings of Saturn. This is expected to happen within 10 to 100 million years.
Triton is one of 3 moons that have an atmosphere (along with Titan and Io). The possibility of the existence of a liquid ocean under the icy crust of Triton, similar to the ocean of Europa, is indicated.
The next discovered satellite of Neptune was Nereid. It has an irregular shape and is among the highest orbital eccentricities.
Between July and September 1989, six more new satellites were discovered. Among them, it is worth noting Proteus, which has an irregular shape and high density.
The four inner satellites are Thalassa, Naiad, Galatea and Despina. Their orbits are so close to the planet that they are within its rings. Larissa, next in line, was first opened in 1981.
Between 2002 and 2003, five more irregularly shaped moons of Neptune were discovered. Since Neptune was considered the Roman god of the sea, his moons were named after other sea creatures.
Observing Neptune
It's no secret that Neptune is not visible from Earth with the naked eye. The dwarf planet Ceres, the Galilean moons of Jupiter and asteroids 2 Pallas, 4 Vesta, 3 Juno, 7 Iris and 6 Hebe are visible brighter in the sky. To observe the planet, you need a telescope with a magnification of 200x and a diameter of at least 200-250 mm. In this case, you can see the planet as a small bluish disk, reminiscent of Uranus.
Every 367 days, for an earthly observer, the planet Neptune enters into an apparent retrograde motion, forming certain imaginary loops against the background of other stars during each opposition.
Observing the planet at radio waves shows that Neptune is the source of irregular flares and continuous emission. Both phenomena are explained by a rotating magnetic field. Neptune's storms are clearly visible in the infrared part of the spectrum. You can determine their size and shape, and accurately track their movement.
In 2016, NASA plans to launch the Neptune Orbiter spacecraft to Neptune. To date, no exact launch dates have been officially announced; the plan for exploring the Solar System does not include this device.
For a long time, Neptune was in the shadow of other planets in the solar system, occupying a modest eighth place. Astronomers and researchers preferred to study large celestial bodies by pointing their telescopes at the gas giant planets Jupiter and Saturn. The modest Pluto, which was considered the last ninth planet of the solar system, received even more attention from the scientific community. Since its discovery, the planet Neptune and interesting facts about it have been of little interest to the scientific world; all information about it was random.
It seemed that after the decision of the Prague XXVI General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union to recognize Pluto as a dwarf planet, the fate of Neptune would change dramatically. However, despite significant changes in the composition of the solar system, Neptune now truly finds itself on the outskirts of near space. Since the triumphant discovery of the planet Neptune, research on the gas giant has been limited. A similar picture is observed today, when not a single space agency considers the exploration of the eighth planet of the solar system a priority.
History of the discovery of Neptune
Moving on to the eighth planet of the solar system, we must admit that Neptune is not nearly as huge as its brothers Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus. The planet is the fourth gas giant, as its size is inferior to all three. The diameter of the planet is only 49.24 thousand km, while Jupiter and Saturn have diameters of 142.9 thousand km and 120.5 thousand km, respectively. Uranus, although inferior to the first two, has a planetary disk size of 50 thousand km. and surpasses the fourth gas planet. But in terms of weight, this planet is certainly one of the top three. Neptune's mass is 102 by 1024 kg, and it looks quite impressive. In addition to everything, it is the most massive object among other gas giants. Its density is 1.638 k/m3 and is higher than that of the huge Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus.
Possessing such impressive astrophysical parameters, the eighth planet was also awarded an honorary name. Due to the blue color of its surface, the planet was named after the ancient god of the seas, Neptune. However, this was preceded by a curious history of the discovery of the planet. For the first time in the history of astronomy, a planet was discovered through mathematics and calculations before it was seen through a telescope. Despite the fact that Galileo received the first information about the blue planet, its official discovery took place almost 200 years later. In the absence of accurate astronomical data from his observations, Galileo considered the new planet to be a distant star.
The planet appeared on the map of the Solar System as a result of the resolution of numerous disputes and disagreements that had long reigned among astronomers. As early as 1781, when the scientific world witnessed the discovery of Uranus, slight orbital fluctuations of the new planet were noted. For a massive celestial body that rotates in an elliptical orbit around the Sun, such fluctuations were uncharacteristic. Even then, it was suggested that behind the orbit of the new planet another large celestial object was moving in space, which with its gravitational field influenced the position of Uranus.
The mystery remained unsolved for the next 65 years, until the British astronomer John Cooch Adams presented for public review the data of his calculations, in which he proved the existence of another unknown planet in circumsolar orbit. According to the calculations of the Frenchman Laverrier, a planet of large mass is located immediately beyond the orbit of Uranus. After two sources immediately confirmed the presence of an eighth planet in the solar system, astronomers around the world began to search for this celestial body in the night sky. The result of the search was not long in coming. Already in September 1846, a new planet was discovered by the German Johann Gall. If we talk about who discovered the planet, then nature itself intervened in the process. Science provided data about the new planet to man.
At first, some difficulties arose with the name of the newly discovered planet. Each of the astronomers who had a hand in the discovery of the planet tried to give it a name consonant with their own name. Only thanks to the efforts of the director of the Pulkovo Imperial Observatory, Vasily Struve, the name Neptune was finally assigned to the blue planet.
What did the discovery of the eighth planet bring to science?
Until 1989, humanity was content with visual observation of the blue giant, having only been able to calculate its basic astrophysical parameters and calculate its true size. As it turns out, Neptune is the most distant planet in the solar system, the distance from our star is 4.5 billion km. The sun shines in the Neptunian sky as a small star, the light of which reaches the surface of the planet in 9 hours. The Earth is separated from the surface of Neptune by 4.4 billion kilometers. It took 12 years for the Voyager 2 spacecraft to reach the orbit of the blue giant, and this became possible thanks to a successful gravitational maneuver that the station performed in the vicinity of Jupiter and Saturn.
Neptune moves in a fairly regular orbit with a low eccentricity. The deviation between perihelion and aphelion is no more than 100 million km. The planet completes one revolution around our star in almost 165 Earth years. For reference, it was only in 2011 that the planet made a full orbit around the Sun since its discovery.
Discovered in 1930, Pluto, considered until 2005 the most distant planet in the solar system, at certain times is closer to the Sun than distant Neptune. This is due to the fact that Pluto's orbit is very elongated.
Neptune's position in orbit is quite stable. The tilt angle of its axis is 28° and is almost identical to the tilt angle of our planet. In this regard, on the blue planet there is a change of seasons, which, due to the long orbital path, lasts for a long 40 years. Neptune's rotation period around its own axis is 16 hours. However, due to the fact that Neptune does not have a solid surface, the speed of rotation of its gaseous shell at the poles and at the equator of the planet is different.
Only at the end of the 20th century was man able to obtain more accurate information about the planet Neptune. The Voyager 2 space probe flew by the blue giant in 1989 and provided earthlings with close-up images of Neptune. After this, the most distant planet in the solar system was revealed in a new light. Details of the astrophysical surroundings of Neptune, as well as what its atmosphere consists of, have become known. Like all previous gas planets, it has several satellites. Neptune's largest moon, Triton, was discovered by Voyager 2. The planet also has its own system of rings, which, however, is inferior in scale to Saturn’s halo. The information received from the automatic probe is by far the most recent and unique of its kind, on the basis of which we have gained an idea of the composition of the atmosphere and the conditions that prevail in this distant and cold world.
Today, the eighth planet of our star system is being studied using the Hubble Space Telescope. Based on his images, an accurate portrait of Neptune was compiled, the composition of the atmosphere was determined, what it consists of, and a number of features and characteristics of the blue giant were identified.
Characteristics and brief description of the eighth planet
The specific color of the planet Neptune arose due to the dense atmosphere of the planet. It is not possible to determine the exact composition of the blanket of clouds covering the icy planet. However, thanks to images obtained using Hubble, it was possible to conduct spectral studies of Neptune’s atmosphere:
- the upper layers of the planet's atmosphere are 80% hydrogen;
- the remaining 20% comes from a mixture of helium and methane, of which only 1% is present in the gas mixture.
It is the presence of methane and some other, as yet unknown component in the planet’s atmosphere that determines its color of bright blue azure. Like other gas giants, Neptune's atmosphere is divided into two regions - the troposphere and stratosphere - each of which is characterized by its own composition. In the zone of transition of the troposphere to the exosphere, cloud formation occurs, consisting of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide vapor. Throughout Neptune's atmosphere, temperature parameters vary between 200-240 degrees Celsius below zero. However, against this background, one feature of Neptune’s atmosphere is curious. We are talking about an abnormally high temperature in one of the sections of the stratosphere, which reaches values of 750 K. This is probably caused by the interaction of the lower layers of the atmosphere with the gravitational forces of the planet and the action of Neptune’s magnetic field.
Despite the high density of the atmosphere of the eighth planet, its climatic activity is considered to be quite weak. Apart from strong hurricane winds blowing at a speed of 400 m/s, no other striking meteorological phenomena were observed on the blue giant. Storms on a distant planet are a common phenomenon that is typical for all planets in this group. The only controversial aspect that raises serious doubts among climatologists and astronomers about the passivity of Neptune's climate is the presence in its atmosphere of the Large and Small Dark Spots, the nature of which is similar to the nature of the Great Red Spot on Jupiter.
The lower layers of the atmosphere smoothly transform into a layer of ammonia and methane ice. However, the presence of Neptune's rather impressive gravitational force suggests that the planet's core may be solid. In support of this hypothesis, the high value of the acceleration of gravity is 11.75 m/s2. For comparison, on Earth this value is 9.78 m/s2.
Theoretically, the internal structure of Neptune looks like this:
- an iron-stone core, which has a mass 1.2 times greater than the mass of our planet;
- the planet's mantle, consisting of ammonia, water and methane hot ice, the temperature of which is 7000K;
- the lower and upper atmosphere of the planet, filled with vapors of hydrogen, helium and methane. The mass of Neptune's atmosphere is 20% of the mass of the entire planet.
It is difficult to say what the actual dimensions of Neptune's inner layers are. It is probably a huge compressed ball of gas, cold on the outside and heated to very high temperatures on the inside.
Triton is Neptune's largest moon
The Voyager 2 space probe discovered a whole system of Neptune's satellites, of which 14 have been identified today. The largest object is a satellite called Triton, whose mass is 99.5% of the mass of all other satellites of the eighth planet. Another thing is curious. Triton is the only natural satellite of the solar system that rotates in the direction opposite to the direction of rotation of the mother planet. It is possible that Triton was once similar to Pluto and was an object in the Kuiper belt, but was then captured by the blue giant. After examination by Voyager 2, it turned out that Triton, like the satellites of Jupiter and Saturn - Io and Titan - has its own atmosphere.
Time will tell how useful this information will be for scientists. In the meantime, the study of Neptune and its environs is proceeding extremely slowly. According to preliminary calculations, the study of the border regions of our solar system will begin no earlier than 2030, when more advanced spacecraft appear.
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Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun. It completes the group of planets known as gas giants.
The history of the discovery of the planet.
Neptune became the first planet whose existence astronomers knew about even before they saw it through a telescope.
The uneven movement of Uranus in its orbit has led astronomers to believe that the reason for this behavior of the planet is the gravitational influence of another celestial body. Having carried out the necessary mathematical calculations, Johann Halle and Heinrich d'Arre at the Berlin Observatory discovered a distant blue planet on September 23, 1846.
It is very difficult to accurately answer the question thanks to whom Neptune was found. Many astronomers have worked in this direction and debates on this matter are still ongoing.
10 things you need to know about Neptune!
- Neptune is the most distant planet in the Solar System and occupies the eighth orbit from the Sun;
- Mathematicians were the first to know about the existence of Neptune;
- There are 14 satellites circling around Neptune;
- Neputna's orbit is removed from the Sun by an average of 30 AU;
- One day on Neptune lasts 16 Earth hours;
- Neptune has only been visited by one spacecraft, Voyager 2;
- There is a system of rings around Neptune;
- Neptune has the second highest gravity after Jupiter;
- One year on Neptune lasts 164 Earth years;
- The atmosphere on Neptune is extremely active;
Astronomical characteristics
The meaning of the name of the planet Neptune
Like other planets, Neptune gets its name from Greek and Roman mythology. The name Neptune, after the Roman god of the sea, suited the planet surprisingly well due to its gorgeous blue hue.
Physical characteristics of Neptune
Rings and satellites
Neptune is orbited by 14 known moons, named after lesser sea deities and nymphs from Greek mythology. The planet's largest moon is Triton. It was discovered by William Lassell on October 10, 1846, just 17 days after the discovery of the planet.
Triton is the only satellite of Neptune that has a spherical shape. The planet's remaining 13 known satellites are irregularly shaped. In addition to its regular shape, Triton is known for having a retrograde orbit around Neptune (the direction of rotation of the satellite is opposite to Neptune's rotation around the Sun). This gives astronomers reason to believe that Triton was gravitationally captured by Neptune and was not formed along with the planet. Also, recent studies of the Neputna system have shown a constant decrease in the altitude of Triton’s orbit around the parent planet. This means that in millions of years, Triton will fall onto Neptune or be completely destroyed by the planet's powerful tidal forces.
There is also a ring system near Neptune. However, research shows that they are relatively young and very unstable.
Features of the planet
Neptune is extremely distant from the Sun and is therefore invisible to the naked eye from Earth. The average distance from our star is about 4.5 billion kilometers. And due to its slow movement in orbit, one year on the planet lasts 165 Earth years.
The main axis of Neptune's magnetic field, like that of Uranus, is strongly inclined relative to the planet's rotation axis and is about 47 degrees. However, this did not affect its power, which is 27 times greater than that of the Earth.
Despite the large distance from the Sun and, as a result, less energy received from the star, the winds on Neptune are three times stronger than on Jupiter and nine times stronger than on Earth.
In 1989, the Voyager 2 spacecraft, flying near the Neptune system, saw a large storm in its atmosphere. This hurricane, like the Great Red Spot on Jupiter, was so large that it could contain the Earth. The speed of his movement was also enormous and amounted to about 1200 kilometers per hour. However, such atmospheric phenomena do not last as long as on Jupiter. Subsequent observations by the Hubble Space Telescope found no evidence of this storm.
Atmosphere of the planet
Neptune's atmosphere is not much different from other gas giants. It mainly consists of two components hydrogen and helium with small admixtures of methane and various ices.
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BASIC DATA ABOUT NEPTUNE
Neptune is primarily a giant of gas and ice.
Neptune is the eighth planet of the solar system.
Neptune is the farthest planet from the Sun since Pluto was demoted to the rank of dwarf planet.
Scientists don't know how clouds can move so fast on a cold, icy planet like Neptune. They suggest that cold temperatures and the flow of liquid gases in the planet's atmosphere may reduce friction enough to allow winds to pick up significant speeds.
Of all the planets in our system, Neptune is the coldest.
The upper layers of the planet's atmosphere have a temperature of -223 degrees Celsius.
Neptune produces more heat than it receives from the Sun.
Neptune's atmosphere is dominated by chemical elements such as hydrogen, methane and helium.
Neptune's atmosphere smoothly transitions into a liquid ocean, and that into a frozen mantle. This planet has no surface as such.
Presumably, Neptune has a rocky core whose mass is approximately equal to the mass of the Earth. Neptune's core is composed of silicate magnesium and iron.
Neptune's magnetic field is 27 times more powerful than Earth's.
Neptune's gravity is only 17% stronger than that of Earth.
Neptune is an icy planet made of ammonia, water and methane.
An interesting fact is that the planet itself rotates in the opposite direction from the rotation of the clouds.
A Great Dark Spot was discovered on the planet's surface in 1989.
SATELLITES OF NEPTUNE
Neptune has an officially registered number of 14 moons. Neptune's moons are named after Greek gods and heroes: Proteus, Talas, Naiad, Galatea, Triton and others.
Neptune's largest satellite is Triton.
Triton moves around Neptune in a retrograde orbit. This means that its orbit around the planet is backwards compared to Neptune's other moons.
Most likely, Neptune once captured Triton - that is, the moon did not form on the spot, like the other moons of Neptune. Triton is locked in synchronous rotation with Neptune and slowly spirals towards the planet.
Triton, in about three and a half billion years, will be torn apart by its gravity, after which its debris will form another ring around the planet. This ring may be more powerful than the rings of Saturn.
Triton's mass is more than 99.5% of the total mass of all other Neptune satellites
Triton was most likely once a dwarf planet in the Kuiper Belt.
RINGS OF NEPTUNE
Neptune has six rings, but they are much smaller than Saturn's and are not easy to see.
Neptune's rings are made mostly of frozen water.
It is believed that the planet's rings are the remains of a once torn apart satellite.
VISITING NEPTUNE
In order for the ship to reach Neptune, it needs to travel a path that will take approximately 14 years.
The only spacecraft to visit Neptune is.
In 1989, Voyager 2 passed within 3,000 kilometers of Neptune's north pole. He circled the celestial body once.
During its flyby, Voyager 2 studied Neptune's atmosphere, its rings, magnetosphere and met Triton. Voyager 2 also took a look at Neptune's Great Dark Spot, a rotating storm system that has disappeared, according to Hubble Space Telescope observations.
Voyager 2's beautiful photographs of Neptune will long remain the only thing we have
Unfortunately, no one plans to explore the planet Neptune again in the coming years.
