What is Known of Neptune?
Neptune
is
the eighth planet of the our Solar System, Pluto being the
outermost one.
However, once every 248 years, for 20 years, Pluto's orbit swings
it closer
than Neptune to the Sun. Neptune
was the
outermost planet till 1999.
Neptune was
discovered in
1846 and
is four times the
diameter of
the Earth, but
because it is
very far, it
appears as
very small even
through powerful
telescopes.
It is
mainly made up of
liquid and
frozen gases. Voyager, a
space probe
passed Neptune in August
1989 and
has provided much information about it. Neptune has a Great Dark
Spot which
is a long lived oval cloud, a smaller cloud and rapidly changing
feathery white
methane clouds.
Winds blow
at a speed of 2000Km/h. Voyager showed that Neptune has
two narrow
rings and other fainter ones and eight satellites.
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