NEPTUNE THE BLUE PLANET

BASIC FACTS

Neptune is the farthest planet from the sun except Pluto. It cannot be seen without a telescope. It is smaller than Uranus and has a diameter measuring 49,500 kilometers - about 4 times that of the earth.

Neptune was discovered through mathematics before being seen through a telescope. When predictions about the positions of Uranus on certain times went wrong, astronomers became sure that some other planet disturbs the positions of Uranus by dint of its gravity. When John C. Adams, a British mathematician, reached the same result, the astronomers looked for the planet and found it very much there in 1846 A.D.

Neptune has an oval orbit along which it revolves round the sun once in about 165 earth-years. It rotates round its axis once in l6 hours. Its axis is tilted at an angle of 30°.

SPECIAL FEATURES

It is believed that Neptune is a gas-giant made up of hydrogen and helium chiefly. It has a central rocky core which is surrounded by heavily compressed gases in the form of moving clouds made of frozen methane gas. It has a big dark area. This Great Dark, Spot consists of swirling masses of gas and is the size of our earth. Due to the tilt of its axis, Neptune has seasons on it.

Pluto moves inside the Neptune's orbit once in 248 years. It remains there for about 20 years. Pluto entered Neptune's orbit on 23rd January 1979 and will remain in it till March 15, 1999 A.D.

In 1989, the Voyager II discovered six new moons of Neptune though only two were known before it. Its largest moon is Triton. It is the only planet in our solar system that travels east to west.

IN MYTHOLOGY

Neptune is the god of sea in Roman mythology. It was believed to have the power to start and stop storms in oceans. Neptune was the son of Saturn and Ops. He married the sea nymph Amphitrite and had a son named Triton.