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Overview
The 8th and last planet from the Sun Most is known from Voyager 2 Known for its bluish color Known as the ice giant
Official Discovery
Urbain Joseph Le Verrier and John Couch Adams calculated (separately) where they believed Neptune would be and sent them to many astronomers Johann Gottfried Galle and Heinrich Louis dArrest, two German astronomers, saw Neptune as a planet on September 23, 1846
Name
Galle wanted to name the planet for Le Verrier, but other astronomers did not approve The planet was named Neptune, the Roman god of the sea, for its blue color
Statistics
Diameter: 49,528 km Mass: 1.0241 1026 Density: 1.9 g/cm3
Internal Composition
An upper atmosphere (mostly clouds) Atmosphere of hydrogen, helium, methane Mantle of water, ammonia, methane ice Core of unknown rock and ice
Atmosphere
A very thick atmosphere 74% hydrogen 25% Helium 1% Methane The release of methane and another unknown substance causes the blue color of Neptune A large, Earth sized hurricane is going on in Neptune for most likely thousands of years The winds were recorded by Voyager 2 to be at 1,500 mph
Magnetic Field
Tilted 47 degrees from the planets axis 13,500 km from the physical center The field goes through dramatic changes as the plane rotates (due to the tilt of the planet and the field)
Evidence of water
Neptunes mantle is comprised of some water, but mostly vapor Ice is very prevalent, but so frozen it can not be used
Voyager 2
The spacecraft came closest to Neptune in August of 1989 at a distance of 4,950 km It studied Neptune continuously from June to October of that year
Life?
The atmosphere of Neptune is very similar to Earths when life apparently began However, the -270 to -380 degree temperatures are different from an early Earth
Plate Tectonics?
Almost nothing is known about the surface of Neptune With so little evidence, no inferences can be made
Rings
Neptune has a large system of rings composed of rocks and dust The four most prominent rings are: 1. The Adams ring 2. The Le Verrier ring 3. The Galle ring 4. The Plateau ring The rings are uneven, most likely because of the pull of Neptunes rings
Sources
"Solar System Exploration: Planets: Neptune: Overview." Solar System Exploration: Planets: Neptune: Overview. NASA, n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2013. <http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Obje ct=Neptune>. "Neptune - EnchantedLearning.com." Neptune EnchantedLearning.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2013. <http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/astrono my/planets/neptune/>. "Voyager - Neptune." Voyager - Neptune. NASA, n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2013. <http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/science/neptune.html>.