OUTER SPACE - the Heavenly Bodies: Learn About Your World - Science Series - Book One by Trinity Jorden

Author:Trinity Jorden [Jorden, Trinity]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Astronomy, Science & Math, Astronomy & Space Science, Astrophysics & Space Science
Amazon: B00NAX4TBA
Published: 2014-09-03T04:00:00+00:00

Planets - Neptune

Image 21 - Neptune

Neptune is the eighth planet out from the Sun and is the last of the jovian planets. As is the case with Uranus, Neptune is now considered more an ice giant rather than a gas giant. Although its atmosphere is similar to Jupiter and Saturn, it has higher quantities of “ices” that include water, ammonia and methane.

As mentioned in the section about Uranus, there could also be massive seas of liquid diamond, with diamond chunks the size of icebergs on both Uranus and Neptune.

The diameter of Neptune makes it the fourth largest planet, but it is the smallest of the gas giants. It is the third largest planet in mass.

Galileo’s notebooks show that on two occasions (on 28th December 1612 and on 27th January 1613) he sighted Neptune. Unfortunately, he did not recognise it as a planet, and thought it was a fixed star. As a consequence, he is not accredited with its discovery.

Neptune was the first planet to be discovered using mathematics. Observation of the unusual orbit of Uranus led the French mathematician, Urbain-Jean-Joseph Le Verrier, to predict that gravity from another, as yet undiscovered planet, was affecting Uranus’ orbit.

An Englishman, John Couch Adams, also came to the same conclusion using mathematics. In 1846, at the request of Le Verrier, it was a young astronomer, Johann Gottfried Galle who searched for and observed Neptune, for the first time.

Neptune also has a spot, nicknamed the “Great Dark Spot” by scientists. As with the other three jovian giants, this spot indicates a raging storm, with wind speeds in excess of 805 kms (500 miles) per hour.

It takes Neptune almost 165 Earth years to orbit the Sun. A day on Neptune is the equivalent of 18 Earth hours.

According to an article on NASA’s site, the average temperature on Neptune is around -200 degrees Celsius (-328 degrees Fahrenheit). An international team of astronomers have found that the temperature at the South Pole is about 10 degrees Celsius (50 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than the rest of the planet. Neptune also has the strongest winds of any planet in our Solar System, sometimes reaching in excess of 2,000 kms (1,240 miles) per hour.

Neptune has a system of five rings, which are composed of dust and small rocks and vary in density and size. They are difficult to see as they are very dark. The rings have been named after astronomers who made an important discovery about the planet: Galle, La Verrier, Lassell, Arago and Adams.

Neptune has 13 moons. Eight have been named: Triton, Nereid, Naiad, Thalassa, Despina, Larissa, Proteus and Galatea. There are a further five smaller unnamed moons.

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