Neptune Facts: The Big Blue Planet
Neptune is tilted on its axis so it has seasons like Earth. But it’s so far from the sun that it gets as cold as -231°C. Neptune
has 14 moons and very faint rings. Ever since Pluto has been demoted to a dwarf planet, Neptune has become the farthest
planet from the sun. Overall, it esembles Planet Uranus in size and atmosphere. Do you want to learn more? Here are 5
interesting facts about Planet Neptune.
1. Neptune is the farthest planet from the sun
Neptune is about 4.495 billion kilometers from the center. This means that it is the farthest planet to receive solar radiation from
the sun.This is about 30 astronomical units (AU) away from Earth. Remember that Earth is just 1 AU, which is the distance from
Earth to the sun.Neptune has an orbital period of 165 years. This means that it takes 165 Earth years for one full revolution.
2. It’s tilted on its axis like Earth giving it seasons
Neptune has a tilted axis at about 29 degrees. Because of its tilt, it has seasons like Earth. Its atmosphere changes due to the
direction facing the sun. Neptune has the strongest winds in the solar system. For example, we know that storms on Neptune
spin in an anti-cyclonic direction.
3. Neptune resembles Uranus
The 2 outermost planets resemble each other in size, atmosphere, and temperature. The atmosphere of Neptune is mostly:
Hydrogen (80%)
Helium (19%)
Methane (1%)
4. Neptune has 14 moons and dark rings
There are 14 moons whose names come from Greek mythology:
- Triton - Nereid - Naiad - Thalassa - Despina
We’ve never been able to see Neptune with the naked eye. But we do know that Neptune has rings but they are very
dark and their structure is unknown.
5. Pluto is part of Neptune’s orbit
Not so long ago, Pluto was considered a planet on its own. But now Pluto has been demoted to a dwarf planet because
we’ve learned more about planet Neptune’s orbit.
We now know that Pluto crosses the orbit of Neptune. For about 7% of its orbit, Pluto is actually closer to the sun than
Neptune
But the reason that Neptune still remains a planet is that it had significantly more mass than Pluto. It has 8000 times more
mass than Pluto.
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