Neptune is the last of our planets and comes before the dwarf planet Pluto. Is it far away from sun hence it is a frozen planet. It is said that the atmosphere of Neptune is rich is carbon and nitrogen so the surface of this planet is covered with diamonds. Well, if it is true, then we better take a ship there and get those diamonds. Anyway, there are some more facts about Neptune waiting for you to read them in the lines below.
1. Most Distant Planet
Neptune is the most distant planet when it was discovered in 1846. But after the discovery of Pluto, the most distant planet became Pluto. But the orbit of Pluto is elliptical; it comes very much inside the solar system when it reaches to its shorter orbital path. Hence Neptune is still the most distant planet.
2. The Smallest Gas Planet
Neptune is the smallest of gas planets. Its radius is only 24,764 km. but it is denser than Uranus which is also a gas planet. The small size of planet did not affect the mass of the planet.
3. Neptune’s Surface
The surface of Neptune is covered with ice and gas. So there is no way you could stand on its surface. The mass of Neptune is 17 times more than earth and it is 4 times larger than that of earth. But the gravity of Neptune and earth are almost identical. Neptune’s gravity is 17 percent more than that of earth.
4. Discovery
The discovery of the planet is still an issue. It was Galileo who first marked it as a star on the sky. The two French mathematicians announced that there is a planet somewhere on the earth but it was formally discovered by astronomer Johan. French and English people still argue over this issue.
5. Hurricanes
If you think a hurricane is horrible then look at the Neptune’s surface where winds go up to 2100 km per hour. This is probably due to the less friction of icy and gaseous surface of Neptune that moves easily.
6. Coldest Planet
This is the coldest planet of our solar system since Pluto is no more a planet now. At the top of the clouds of Neptune the temperature goes up to -221.4 degree c.
7. Biggest Moon
Triton is the largest moon of Neptune and is the coldest place of our solar system. It is the seven biggest moon of our system. Triton’s temperature is -235 degree Celsius. Even though, it is coldest place, yet the NASA’s space craft found volcanoes erupting liquid nitrogen.
8. The Triton
Astronomers say that Neptune has probably captured this moon because it has an inverse path than that of other moons of Neptune. It circles this planet in spiral orbit. Billions of years from now, Neptune will be torn apart by the gravity of Neptune and will ultimately crash into the planet.
9. The Only Visit
The only space craft that visited Neptune to date was the NASA’s voyager 2 space craft that visited our solar system and passed by Neptune from 3000 km from its north pole in 1989.
10. The Next Expedition
The next expedition to Neptune is expected in 2016 and the space craft orbiter will reach the planet in 2030. This will then study the planet more closely.