Facts About Neptune: Varuna is the eighth planet from the Sun in our solar system. It is the fourth largest planet in the Solar System on the basis of diameter and the third largest on the basis of mass. The mass of Varuna is 17 times that of Earth and slightly more than its neighbor Uranus. According to the astronomical unit, the orbit of Varuna is at an average distance of 30.1 from the Sun, which means that Varuna is about thirty times farther from the Sun than the Earth. It takes 164.79 years for Varuna to make one complete orbit around the Sun, i.e. one Varuna year is equal to 164.79 Earth years.
The four planets in our solar system are called gas giants, because they contain mostly gas instead of clay and their size is very large. Varuna is one of these - the other three are Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus. Of these, the structure of Arun is very similar to that of Varuna. The atmospheres of Uranus and Varuna contain more ice than those of Jupiter and Saturn - in addition to water ice, they also contain frozen ammonia and methane gases. That's why astronomers sometimes classify the two as "icy gas giants".
Mind Blowing Facts About Neptune
- Neptune has 6 faint rings.
- A year on Neptune lasts 165 Earth years.
- Light from Neptune reaches us in around 4 hours.
- Neptune is the most distant planet from the Sun.
- Uranus is Neptune’s near twin in size and composition.
- The core of Neptune is about 1.5 times the size of Earth.
- Neptune has a powerful magnetic field. It is 27 times stronger than Earth’s.
- Neptune has a radius of 24.764 km/15.387 mi, and a diameter of 49.244 km/30.598 mi.
- Neptune is the fourth-largest planet in the Solar System and the smallest of the gas giants.
- Neptune is Lifeless due to its extreme temperatures and pressures. Neptune cannot support life.
Cool Facts About Neptune
- Neptune has the second largest gravity of any planet in the solar system – second only to Jupiter.
- Neptune is the first planet to be discovered by the use of mathematical calculations and predictions.
- Both Neptune and Uranus are termed ice giants since they have different compositions than Saturn and Jupiter.
- Neptune is the farthest planet from the Sun at an average distance of 4.5 billion kilometers/2.8 billion miles.
- Neptune has a total of 6 ring systems surrounding it. Some of them contain ring arcs or clusters of dust particles.
- Neptune was observed in 1613 by Galileo Galilei but he thought that he observed a star and failed to find it again.
- Due to its beautiful blue color, Neptune was named after the Roman god of the Sea. In Greek, Neptune is called Poseidon.
- Scientists believe that Neptune formed around 4.5 billion years ago, and it began to drift away from the Sun around 4 billion years ago.
- Neptune spins on its axis very rapidly.Its equatorial clouds take 16 hours to make one rotation. This is because Neptune is not solid body.
- Some believe that inside Neptune’s lowest regions, conditions are such that even methane decomposes into diamond crystals that rain downwards.
Fun Facts About Neptune for Kids
- Neptune is the Coldest and windiest Planet in the Solar System. The average temperature on Neptune is about -221.45 degrees Celsius (-366.6 °F).
- Neptune’s color is believed to be influenced by the presence of methane in its atmosphere, but there is also an unknown factor contributing to this.
- Neptune formed around 4.5 billion years ago however, many believe that it was closer to the Sun then than now, but the planet started to drift away.
- Neptune has the wildest and strangest weather in the Solar System. However, it is not understood how it gets so much energy to produce such weather.
- Deep inside Neptune’s lower regions, there is a hot, dense fluid sometimes called a water-ammonia ocean. Though it is hot, many simply refer to it as icy.
- Neptune has a very thin collection of rings. They are likely made up of ice particles mixed with dust grains and possibly coated with a carbon-based substance.
- Neptune was given the name of the Roman god of the sea due to its bluish-ocean like color. All of Neptune’s moons have been named after water deities in response.
- Until the orbit of Pluto was understood, and its status dropped from that of a planet to a dwarf planet, Neptune was considered the second farthest planet from the Sun.
- Neptune has Rings though its rings are very faint. It has at least five main rings named Galle, Le Verrier, Lassell, Arago, and Adams. Neptune also has four more ring arcs.
Unique Facts About Neptune
- Neptune also has 14 moons. The largest moon of Neptune is Triton, and it is the seventh-largest known moon of any planet. Some believe that the moon is actually a captured dwarf planet.
- Wind speeds on Neptune are among the fastest recorded in the Solar System. Some may reach up to 2.160 km/1.324 mi per hour. They are five times stronger than the strongest winds on Earth.
- Neptune was discovered in 1846 by Johann Gottfried Galle using calculations by Urban Le Verrier of France and John Cauch Adams of Britain. Neptune is a joint British-French-German discovery.
- Neptune is about four times wider than Earth. It takes Neptune 164.8 Earth years (60,190 Earth days) to orbit the Sun. On 11 July 2011, Neptune completed its first full orbit since its discovery in 1846.
- Neptune was not known to the ancients. It is not visible to the naked eye and was first observed in 1846. Its position was determined using mathematical predictions. It was named after the Roman god of the sea.
- Neptune’s atmosphere is made up of hydrogen (80%), helium (19%) and trace amounts of the methane. The methane absorbs the red light from the sun but reflects the blue light back into space. This is why Neptune appears blue.
- The only spacecraft that has ever visited Neptune was NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft in 1989. It captured the first close-up images of the Neptunian system. It took 4 hours and 6 minutes to send the signal from voyager 2 back to earth.
- Neptune has 14 moons. The most interesting moon is Triton, a frozen world that is spewing nitrogen ice and dust particles out from below its surface. It was likely captured by the gravitational pull of Neptune. It is probably the coldest world in the solar system.
- Neptune has a very active climate. Large storms whirl through its upper atmosphere, and high-speed winds track around the planet at up 600 meters per second. One of the largest storms ever seen was recorded in 1989. It was called the Great Dark Spot. It lasted about five years.
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