Neptune

Latest about Neptune

This image of the planet Neptune was obtained during a test of the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope array in northern Chile, in July 2018.
Neptune Is at Opposition Today: Here's How to Spot the Distant Planet

By Elizabeth Howell Published

This week is a great time to see the solar system's outermost gas giant planet, if you have a telescope and a little patience.

Neptune
NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft captured dark streaks produced by geysers visible on the icy surface of Triton's south polar region.
Neptune's Moon Triton Has a Rare Kind of Ice

By Samantha Mathewson Published

Neptune's largest moon Triton boasts a unique icy mixture of carbon monoxide and nitrogen, which could help astronomers better understand the conditions of other distant, alien worlds.

Neptune
Voyager 2 imaged less than half of the surface of Neptune's moon Triton in 1989.
Next Stop, Triton? Here's Two Wild Ideas to Explore Neptune's Weirdest Moon

By Meghan Bartels Published

Neptune's moon Triton is one of the strangest worlds in the solar system — and that's why scientists are exploring mission concepts that could give them a detailed look at it.

Neptune
This composite picture shows images of storms on Neptune from the Hubble Space Telescope (left) and the Voyager 2 spacecraft (right). The Hubble image of Neptune, taken in September and November of 2018, shows a new dark storm (top center). In the Voyager image, a storm known as the Great Dark Spot is seen at the center. It is about 8,000 miles by 4,100 miles (13,000 by 6,600 kilometers) in size. The white clouds seen hovering in the vicinity of the storms are higher in altitude than the dark material.
Birth of 'Great Dark Spot' Storm on Neptune Seen for 1st Time (Photo)

By Mike Wall Published

For the first time ever, astronomers have witnessed the birth of one of Neptune's enormous 'Great Dark Spot' storms.

Neptune
An artist's illustration of Neptune's smallest moon Hippocamp in orbit around the gas giant. It's just 20 miles across.
Meet Hippocamp! Neptune's Smallest Moon Has a Name (and a Violent Past)

By Mike Wall Published

A faint and frigid little moon doesn't have to go by "Neptune XIV" anymore.

Neptune
An artistic representation of the exiled asteroid 2004 EW95, whose inner solar system origins confirm theories about the system's early days.
Ancient, Exiled Asteroid Discovered Beyond Neptune

By Chelsea Gohd Published

Astronomers have spotted a carbon-rich asteroid in the icy region beyond Neptune called the Kuiper Belt — the first such asteroid ever found to be exiled from the inner solar system.

Neptune
NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft captured this color photo of Triton, Neptune's biggest moon, in August 1989. On Oct. 5, 2017, scientists tracked a star as it passed behind Triton using telescopes on Earth.
Neptune's Moon Triton and Star 'Flash' Earth During an Occultation

By Samantha Mathewson Published

Neptune
Effects of radiation burst
Black-Hole Bursts Turn 'Mini-Neptunes' into Rocky 'Super-Earths'

By Samantha Mathewson Published

Supermassive black holes near the center of our Milky Way galaxy may have transformed "mini-Neptune" exoplanets into rocky "super-Earths," new research shows.

Neptune
The crescent planet Neptune and its crescent moon Triton
Triton: Neptune's Odd Moon

By Elizabeth Howell Published

Triton has some peculiarities about its environment, including the fact that it orbits backward to Neptune's rotation and seems to have undergone a huge melt in the past.

Neptune
Neptune and Triton
When Triton Crashed the Party at Neptune

By Nola Taylor Tillman Published

Neptune's largest moon may have gotten rid of some of the planet's original satellites, throwing some into the ice giant, swallowing up some itself and hurling the rest out into space.

Neptune
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