Scientists discovered Neptune in 1846 after noticing irregularities in Uranus's orbit that suggested another planet was perturbing it. Neptune is composed primarily of hydrogen, helium and methane gas. It has a diameter of about 49,500 kilometers and takes 165 years to orbit the sun once. Neptune has eight known moons, with Triton being the largest and coldest, with an average temperature of -235 degrees Celsius.

1. NeptuneNeptune
The Blue Planet

2. In This Slide Show…In This Slide Show…
– The discovery of Neptune
– What a day on Neptune would be like
– Neptune compared to earth
– Facts about Neptune’s moons

3. A New PlanetA New Planet
 Scientists in the early 1800 discovered that the planet
Uranus was not following the orbit they had planned for it.
They guessed that something was pulling on it even farther
out in space. By 1846 astronomers had calculated it’s route
and a few months later, an observer in Germany saw an
unknown object in the sky. It was the new planet,
Neptune. Since then, the information we have gotten about
Neptune has come from observation and from Voyager 2
as it flew by.

4. NeptuneNeptune

5. CompositionComposition
 You could put 60 Earths into Neptune and still
have some room.
 Neptune is mostly made of Hydrogen, Helium and
Methane gas.

6. Interesting FactsInteresting Facts
• Neptune actually has not even orbited the sun once
since we discovered it in 1846! It takes 165 years
for it to orbit the sun.
• Triton is moving in the opposite direction that
Neptune is moving and is steadily moving closer
to Neptune. When it collides with Neptune it will
create a ring system that will rival and may exceed
Saturn’s.
• Neptune’s Temperature is about –235 degrees F.
• The Great Dark Spot at Neptune’s equator is not
there anymore, but in 1997, Hubble Space
Telescope saw another similar storm in Neptune’s

7. StatisticsStatistics
 Neptune has an average distance from the sun of
about 4,497,000,000 kilometers.
 Neptune is about 49,500 kilometers across.
 Neptune rotates once in about 14 hours.

8. Neptune’s MoonsNeptune’s Moons
– Neptune has 8 known
moons.
– The largest moon, Triton, is
the coldest known place in
the solar system, with an
average temperature of
–235 degrees Celsius.
– The other moons are Naiad,
Thalassa, Despina, Galatea,
Larissa, Proteus and Nereid.

9. THE ENDTHE END
Special Thanks To NASA for the
information and Pictures!

10. Copyright InformationCopyright Information
Images for this presentation were acquired
at:
http://solarsystem.jpl.nasa.gov/features/planets/ne