PROJECT

Name and origin of the name: Neptune, was given the name of the Roman god of the sea due
to its bluish-ocean like color.

Position from the Sun: Is the eighth planet from the Sun at a distance of about 2.8 billion miles
(4.5 billion kilometers).

Rotation period, direction of turn and axis of rotation:

- One day on Neptune goes by in 16 hours. Neptune has such a long journey around the Sun it
takes 165 Earth years to go around once. That’s a long year!

- Neptune rotates counterclockwise.

- Neptune's axis of rotation is tilted 28 degrees with respect to the plane of its orbit around the
Sun, which is similar to the axial tilts of Mars and Earth.

Revolution period: 165 years.

Atmosphere (yes/no) and composition: Neptune's atmosphere is made of hydrogen, helium,

and methane. These components, specifically methane, are what give the planet its blue color.

Temperature: minimum, maximum, and average:

- Minimum: Has the coldest temperature measured in our solar system at -223 °C

- Maximum: Approximately -217 °C

- Average: - 220 °C

Satellites: number, and name and characteristics of the main ones: Has 14 known moons:
Naiad, Thalassa, Despina, Galatea, Larissa, S/2004 N1 (which has yet to receive an official
name), Proteus, Triton, Nereid, Halimede, Sao, Laomedeia, Psamathe, and Neso.

- Naiad (N III Naiad) is the closest moon of Neptune, discovered in 1989 by Voyager 2.

- Thalassa (N IV Thalassa) is the second moon of Neptune, discovered in 1989 by Voyager 2.

- Despina (NV Despina) is the third moon of Neptune, discovered in 1989 by Voyager 2.

- Galatea (Galatea VI N) is the fourth moon of Neptune, discovered in 1989 by Voyager 2.

- Larissa (Larissa N VII) is the fifth moon of Neptune, discovered by Harold J. Reitsema, William
B. Hubbard, Larry A. Lebofsky and David J. Tholen at a star occultation by Neptune May 24,
1981.

- Proteus (Proteus VIII N) is the sixth moon of Neptune, discovered in 1989 by Stephen P.
Synnott and Bradford A. Smith.

- Triton (Triton NI) is the seventh and largest moon of Neptune, discovered in 1846, just 17
days after Neptune by William Lassell.

- Nereid (N II Nereid) is the eighth moon of Neptune, discovered in 1949 by Gerard Kuiper.
- Halimeda is the ninth moon of Neptune, discovered in 2002 by the team of Matthew J.
Holman.

- Sao is the tenth moon of Neptune, discovered in 2002 by the team of Matthew J. Holman.

- Laomedeia is the eleventh moon of Neptune, discovered in 2002 by the team of Matthew J.
Holman.

- Psamathe is the twelfth moon of Neptune, discovered by the team of Scott S. Sheppard.

Ring system (yes/no) and characteristics: Neptune has five rings: Galle, Le Verrier, Lassell,
Arago, and Adams. The rings are composed of at least 20% dust with some of the rings
containing as much as 70% dust; the rest of the material comprising the rings is small rocks.
The planet’s rings are difficult to see because they are dark. Astronomers think Neptune’s rings
are young compared to the age of the planet, and that they were probably formed when one
of Neptune’s moons was destroyed.

Other facts? Curiosities? It's more than 30 times as far from the sun as Earth, Neptune is the
only planet in our solar system not visible to the naked eye.

1. GIANT: Neptune is about four times wider than Earth. If Earth were a large apple,
Neptune would be the size of a basketball.
2. ICE GIANT: Neptune is an ice giant. Most of its mass is a hot, dense fluid of "icy"
materials – water, methane and ammonia – above a small rocky core. Is the smallest
planet of the ice giants.
3. Is the coldest planet of the solar system.
4. ONE VOYAGE THERE: Voyager 2 is the only spacecraft to have visited Neptune. No
spacecraft has orbited this distant planet to study it at length and up close.
5. LIFELESS: Neptune cannot support life as we know it
6. Neptune’s surface gravity is almost Earth like.
7. It has the strongest winds in the Solar System. The winds are freezing and blow 10
times faster than earths mightiest hurricane.

1. Neptune has the most violent storms than any other planet in our solar system.