Neptune: The Windy Blue Giant

  1. Neptune is the eighth and farthest planet from the Sun in our solar system.
  2. Its striking blue color comes from methane gas in its atmosphere.
  3. Neptune has the fastest winds in the solar system, reaching over 1,200 mph.
  4. The planet is slightly smaller than Uranus but more massive.
  5. Neptune has 14 known moons, with Triton being the largest and most unusual.
  6. Triton orbits backward compared to Neptune’s rotation, suggesting it was captured.
  7. The planet has faint, dusty rings made of ice particles and debris.
  8. A massive dark storm, similar to Jupiter’s Great Red Spot, was first spotted in 1989.
  9. Neptune was discovered in 1846 using mathematical predictions before it was seen through a telescope.
  10. Voyager 2 remains the only spacecraft to fly by Neptune, providing close-up images in 1989.