along the dark edges of the solar system
it floats anchored by a star but barely
graced by its warmth this traveller
drifts alone as deceptively calm and
elusive as the deep blue sea Neptune is
the eighth planet from the Sun at about
30 times the distance between our star
and the earth or 30 astronomical units
Neptune is the most distant planet in
our solar system this distance creates
the longest orbit of the eight worlds
about 165 years with the seasons lasting
a little over 40 earth years each being
so far away from the heat and light of
the Sun Neptune is cold dark and icy at
its heart is a solid core about
one-and-a-half times the size of Earth
making up about 45% of the planet’s mass
the core is made of water ice and
silicate rock the rest of the planet is
believed to be a hot pressurized ocean
of water methane and ammonia ices
surrounded by a layer of clouds
these clouds predominantly made of
hydrogen and helium include traces of
methane which give this ocean world its
rich blue color while the clouds create
a cool calm veneer from afar up close
they are whipped around by the most
severe weather in the solar system winds
on the planet reach speeds of over 1,200
miles per hour
nearly five times faster than the
strongest winds recorded on earth
in fact the winds are so powerful that
drifting high above this windy ice giant
is a quiet ecosystem of rings and
satellites six rings encircle the planet
with some containing ring arcs for
clusters of dust particles in a ring
also revolving around the planet are 14
known moons with the largest called
Triton named after the son of the
ancient Greek sea god Triton has ice
volcanoes and may even contain a
subsurface ocean much is left to be
discovered about Neptune its rings and
its moons only one spacecraft Voyager 2
has visited these cosmic bodies but
future missions to this mysterious icy
world would have even more stories to tell
it floats anchored by a star but barely
graced by its warmth this traveller
drifts alone as deceptively calm and
elusive as the deep blue sea Neptune is
the eighth planet from the Sun at about
30 times the distance between our star
and the earth or 30 astronomical units
Neptune is the most distant planet in
our solar system this distance creates
the longest orbit of the eight worlds
about 165 years with the seasons lasting
a little over 40 earth years each being
so far away from the heat and light of
the Sun Neptune is cold dark and icy at
its heart is a solid core about
one-and-a-half times the size of Earth
making up about 45% of the planet’s mass
the core is made of water ice and
silicate rock the rest of the planet is
believed to be a hot pressurized ocean
of water methane and ammonia ices
surrounded by a layer of clouds
these clouds predominantly made of
hydrogen and helium include traces of
methane which give this ocean world its
rich blue color while the clouds create
a cool calm veneer from afar up close
they are whipped around by the most
severe weather in the solar system winds
on the planet reach speeds of over 1,200
miles per hour
nearly five times faster than the
strongest winds recorded on earth
in fact the winds are so powerful that
drifting high above this windy ice giant
is a quiet ecosystem of rings and
satellites six rings encircle the planet
with some containing ring arcs for
clusters of dust particles in a ring
also revolving around the planet are 14
known moons with the largest called
Triton named after the son of the
ancient Greek sea god Triton has ice
volcanoes and may even contain a
subsurface ocean much is left to be
discovered about Neptune its rings and
its moons only one spacecraft Voyager 2
has visited these cosmic bodies but
future missions to this mysterious icy
world would have even more stories to tell
Please follow and like us: