GENERAL INFORMOTION ON NEPTUNE

The eighth planet from the Sun is Neptune in solar system. This great freezed planet has a stormy atmosphere and strong winds. It has eight moons and weak rings arranged in clusters. Because of existing methan (CH₄) in its atmosphere which absorbs red light, Neptune is in blue color.

Neptune is not visible by eyes alone and it is first planet which its existence was predicted mathematically because of pertubation in orbit of Uranus that caused by a gas giant celled Neptune.

SIZE

The diameter of Neptune is about 30775 miles (49528km). So it is 3.88 times greater than Earth’s diameter and can contain 60 planet like Earths in it. After Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus it is fourth in largeness.

MASS AND GRAVITY

Mass of Neptune is over 17 times the Earth’s mass   

Mass of Neptune is over 17 times the Earth’s mass(i.e 1.02.10 26 kg), but its gravity is only 1.19 times of the Earth’s gravity due to its largeness. As we know gravitational force is propotional to the mass and inverse of radius squared.

A person with 100 pound weight will be 119 pounds on Neptune

NEPTUNE’S ORBIT AND DISTANCE FROM THE SUN

Average nepton’s distance from the Sun is 30.06 A. U. It is about 30 times of the Earth’s distance. Nearly the orbit of Neptune is outside of Pluto’s orbit because Pluto’s orbit is highly eccentric (non-circular). During 20 years out of every 248 Earth years, Neptune is in fact the farthest planet from the Sun. From Jan. 21, 1979 up to feb. 11, 1999 pluto was located in Neptun’s orbit, and until sep. 2226 pluto will be outside of Neptun’s orbit. At farthest distance from the Sun (aphelion point distance) is 4,596,000,000 Km and at nearest distance (perihelion point) it is 4,456,000,000 Km from the Sun. Orbital axis of Neptune is tilted in 30 degrees to the plane of its orbit around the Sun in which it is some degrees more than the Earth tilt. So  it can cause seasons in Neptune. Each season takes 40 years. Neptun’s poles are mostly in darkness, So that they effected by sunlight for 40 years at each time.

TEMPERATUR

The average temperature in Neptune is 48° K.

DISCOVERY OF NEPTUNE

Neptune showed its existence by some mathematicalcalculation, due to perturbation in Uranu’s orbit in 1846. J. C Adams and Leverrien had done these calculations independently  and then J. G. Galle and d. Arrest observed this matter on sep. 23,1846.

SPACE CRAFT VISITS

Before NASA’S voyager 2 visited Neptun in August 1989, anybody didn’t know about Neptune.

NEPTUNE’S NAME AND SYMBOL

After the mythical roman god of seas, they named Neptune.