The planet Neptune is the furthest from the Sun and since 2006 this is the case, since Pluto was discontinued as a planet and became a dwarf planet. In this way, the great blue gas was the last on the list and together with Uranus, the most mysterious since there are few missions.

Hardly sunlight reaches it and therefore very little heat from the Sun. It has an external temperature of -220ºC but according to observers, it could have a core that makes the planet warm.

Characteristics of the planet Neptune
Neptune was discovered in 1846. It is curious why the planet was discovered mathematically and not seen, since for reasons of gravity, scientists calculated that there should be a planet in that area.

It has a diameter of approximately 49,244 kilometers (that of the Earth is 12,742 kilometers).
It is 4,495 million kilometers from the Sun (the Earth is 150 million kilometers).
Mercury’s orbit is 164 years, that is, it takes 164 years to go around the Sun, while the Earth takes 365 days.
The day on the planet Neptune is 16 hours and 6 minutes.

Neptune’s temperature
Neptune’s temperature is the same day and night. Being so far from the Sun, it does not matter if the face facing the Sun is warmer or not. The planet is negative 220ºC and receives 1000 times less sunlight than we do.

It is a planet called the gas giant and, like the gas planets, it has very violent storms and winds. From large telescopes on Earth, we can see large dark spots that appear and disappear in a few days. Bright storms the size of the Earth that oscillate across the planet and then disappear.

It also has a ring system, like the other 3 sodas. These are brighter than those of Saturn and may be grains of dust and rocks that are rotated around them by the gravitational force of the planet.

Its core
The core of the planet Neptune could be similar to that of Uranus. We have already commented that the last two planets of the solar system have very similar things, and among them, their core.

A cold, icy core and inside a small rock. We could step on the core of the planet Neptune, but we would turn around very quickly to buy from the big ones that the planet is.

Neptune’s atmosphere
The atmosphere of Neptune is hostile and with storms that cannot be compared to those of Earth. The biggest storm on Earth is a simple breeze on Neptune. The atmosphere is high and is made up of hydrogen, methane gas, and helium.

A few kilometers inland, there are also components such as ammonia, frozen methane, and water. Between all the components strong storms and hurricane-force winds are formed that go from end to end of the planet in a few days.

Curiosities the planet Neptune
Like everything in space and in the Universe, there are questions that we will never know. The curiosities that the planet Neptune presents are endless, here we present some of them:

Neptune is the last planet in the solar system and the smallest of the gaseous ones.
The storms on Neptune are the most violent in the solar system.
Neptune has 5 rings that cannot be seen from Earth, as they are dark.

Distance to the sun

Neptune has a distance from the Sun of 30.1 AU (1 AU = 150 billion kilometers). With today’s technology, it could take us 11 years to get from one end to the other. More than Saturn and Uranus, the three planets are the last in our Solar System.

Neptune’s orbit has been closer to the Sun for some years and not for others. At its closest approach, it is 4.459 million kilometers away. The farthest, however, is located at 4,536 million kilometers. A distance of more than 60 million kilometers.

Your satellites
The satellites of the planet Neptune are currently 14, but before it was not. In 1989 it was known that Neptune had 8 satellites. Little by little the technology has been increasing and we currently know 14 satellites on Neptune. Could it be that we still have some to know?

Triton is the largest Moon on the planet and was the first to be seen from Earth. Voyager 2, visited this Moon in the year 89 and certified that it is a very cold Moon, at -230ºC and possibly a hot interior. Scientists are studying the possibility that Triton has an ocean inside the satellite.