Neptune

Neptune

[[image:Neptune_k.jpg width="277" height="272" align="left" caption="Neptune"]]
Neptune is the 8th planet from the sun. At ,2793,100,000 miles (4,495,060,000 kilometers) from the sun it's the farthest of all the planets. It is 2. Neptune has a diameter of 30,775 miles (4 times the earth) and a mass of 102.43 kg (17 times the mass of earth). http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/neptunefact.html Like other planets in our solar system (except earth) Neptune was named after a Roman god. The god, Neptune, is the ruler of the sea. The planet received the god's named because of its blue color.

Discovery
 In 1843, John C. Adams theorized about Neptune's existence and was able to calculate its location because Uranus' orbit was being affected by Neptune's gravity. Neptune wasn't observed until Johnathan G. Gale and his assistant Heinrick L. d'Arrest saw it using a telescope on September 23, 1846.

Composition
The top layer of Neptune is mostly composed of frozen methane. The second atmospheric layer though to be mostly hydrogen sulfide, helium, water and methane. Neptune's mantle, is made of compressed silicateswater, gasses, ammonia and other materials. The core is composed of rock and ice. Because of this, most of Neptune is not solid like earth, so it has few landforms.

Weather
 Neptune is covered in very thick clouds that travel at over 700 miles per hour. It is usually -218 degrees Celsius. Neptune upper atmosphere is extremely cold, but it has a much warmer interior. This causes Neptune to have a lot of hurricanes.

Orbit
 Neptune has a oval-shaped orbit that takes approximately 165 year complete. The planet will, finally, complete its orbit around the sun for the first time since its discovery in 1846. This will happen in 2018. Its day only takes 16 hours and 7 minutes (earth time). Also The axis is tilted at a 28 degree angle, which is closely like our own axial tilt. Neptune's eccentricity is 0.0113 compared to earth's 0.0167.



Satellites
Neptune has several rings and 13 moons --Triton, Nereid, Naiad, Thalassa, Despina, Galetea, Larissa, Proteus, Halimede, Psamathe, Sao, Laomedeia, Neso.The largest moon is Triton. It is 1,681 miles in diameter and is covered in a slushy mix of water, ice, and minerals. It has some active volcanoes. Triton is 220,440 miles from Neptune. It orbits around Neptune every 6 days and has a surface temperature of about -360 degrees Fahrenheit, making it the coldest known object in the solar system.

Other Facts

 * Every 248 years Pluto goes into Neptune's orbit for 20 years and is closer to the sun than Neptune.
 * Has a “great dark spot” like Jupiter’s “great red spot” it is a big storm which much resembles a hurricane
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 140%;">It was the first planet that was not found through a telescope (or seeing it) it was found through math.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 140%;">Like Uranus, Neptune is an Ice Giant. The two planets are very similar in size, composition and appearance.

Videos
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