Neptune is the planet in the solar system that comes with a bluish color. This is included in the list of large planets in the system and it usually experiences serious atmospheric weather conditions. After the downgrading of planet Pluto, this planet grips the division of being too far from the sun in contrast with the other planets. The size of it is about four times larger than the Earth’s size. According to some astronomers, the storms of it twirl around its surface and sub-zero wind blows faster and stronger than a hurricane. This is the reason why Neptune is usually called as the windiest planet.
Characteristics of Neptune
Neptune is a planet with rings and its blue atmosphere is composed of hydrogen methane. It is covered with very thin wispy white clouds that extend out in the region of it. It has shorter days than Earth because each day of it lasts for about sixteen hours only. It is the 8th planet around the sun and because of that, it is the second planet that takes 605 years or more to finish passing around the sun. Most scientists believe that Neptune has a rocky and hot core and it has the same size with the planet Earth. Aside from hydrogen, it is also covered with helium and the heat inside this planet can trigger current convection.
It usually gains more heat on its central core just like the sun but, the normal temperature of its surface is about 335 degrees Fahrenheit, which is a very cold temperature. It has lots of dark spot; that’s why it is called “The Great Dark Spot”. The dark spot of it was discovered by 2 voyagers who in 1989. Neptune has long wispy clouds that are blown fast by the wind coming from the solar system. These clouds are spread around this planet in just 16 hours. Due to its fast motion, scientist gives it a nickname “Scooter”.
Historical Belief of Planet Neptune
According to the roman mythology, Neptune is the god of the sea. The main reason why it has a blue color is that it absorbs the red light that is produced by methane on its atmosphere. The orbital speed of it is about 5.4 kilometer per second. It has a diameter of 49,493 kilometers. The distance of it from the sun is 2.8 billion miles while it is 2.7 billion miles away from earth. This planet has 13 moons namely, psamathe, naiad, larissa, thalassa, halimede, despina, proteus, neso, sao, Nereid, galatea, laomedeia, and triton. Triton is the largest moon in Neptune and you can easily determine which moon has this name when you look at the photo of this planet.
It has five rings and these rings were given with names by those people who researched for more information about this planet. The names of these rings are Adams, Le Verrier, Arago, Halle, and Lassell. Neptune has a weight of 113 pounds and this is the very first planet that is used in mathematics. Since it is very far from Earth, you can never see this planet. These cool facts about the planet Neptune will surely catch the interest of someone and will be encouraged to search more information about it.