Solar System/Neptune

Photo of Neptune.

Neptune is the farthest of the eight planets from the Sun and is the fourth largest, with a diameter of 49572 kilometers (3.9 times that of Earth). It is one of the four gas giants. If Neptune had a solid surface and you stood on it, you would weigh 12% more than you do on Earth.

Orbit

Neptune orbits the sun once every 164.79 Earth-years, at an average distance of 30.06 AU (Earth-Sun distances) and with an orbital eccentricity of 0.010, making its orbit more nearly circular than that of any other planet except Venus. Neptune is so far away from the Sun that light from the Sun takes an average of 4 hours 10 minutes 25 seconds to get to Neptune.

Rotation

Neptune rotates about its axis prograde (in the direction of its solar orbit) once every 16 hours 6.5 minutes, at an axial tilt of 28.31°.

Physical characteristics

Atmosphere

Spots and clouds

Great Dark Spot of Neptune.

Cloud layers

High altitude clouds of Neptune cast shadows on lower clouds.

Winds and currents

Temperature

Magnetic Field

Rings, arcs and dust

Ring system of Neptune.

Satellites

Triton

Triton

Surface

Surface Relief Features

Activity on Triton

Nereid, Proteus, and Larissa

This article is issued from Wikibooks. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.