Neptune
Neptune is a cold, blue world very far from the Sun. It is the eighth and most distant major planet in our solar system.
Weather and air
Neptune’s air is mostly hydrogen, helium, and methane, which makes it look blue. It has super-fast winds and giant storms that can be much stronger than any on Earth.
A few interesting things
- Neptune is very blue because of methane in its atmosphere.
- It has the strongest winds in the solar system—huge storms can race around the planet.
- A giant storm called the Great Dark Spot was seen by a spacecraft, like a hurricane the size of Earth.
- Neptune was predicted by math before astronomers saw it through a telescope.
- Its biggest moon, Triton, is icy and orbits the other way around the planet.
- One year on Neptune is about 165 Earth years, so seasons last a very long time.
Moons
Neptune has 14 moons. Here are three of the moons.
A few details
- Diameter: 49,244 km
- Type: ice giant
- Distance from sun: 4.5 billion km
- Day length: 16 hours
- Year length: 60,190 days