Neptune is the 8th planet, 2.8 billion miles from the
sun and the fourth largest in diameter compared to all other
celestial objects in the Milky Way galaxy. With 165 Earth years to
every one Neptune year and about 16 Earth hours per Neptune day,
this gas mass is unable to be seen by the naked eye.
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About two thirds of the astronomical body is composed
of primarily molten rock, liquid ammonia, methane and water. The
outer layer however, consists of a heated mixture of hydrogen,
helium, water and methane, producing the blue hue of its clouds in
the atmosphere and the overall appearance of the planet.
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After the discovery of Uranus, astronomers found that
its orbit was altering in relation to Newton�s Laws. French
mathematician, Joseph Le Verrier, used precise calculations in
order to predict another mass that may have been changing its
revolution. His studies were sent to an observatory in Berlin
where Johann Gottfried Galle located Neptune in 1846. Its largest
moon, Triton, was discovered that same year.
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Altogether, this mass has fourteen known moons:
Triton, Nereid, Larissa, Proteus, Naiad, Thalassa, Despina,
Galatea, Laomedeia, Psamathe, Neso, Halimede, Sao and S/2004 N 1.
After great debate of those who observed the planet, it was
decided that it must be named after the Roman god of the sea.
Although about two centuries before, Galileo detected the planet
when its distance was very close to Jupiter, however, he had
believed it was rather a star.
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Cloudy nights halted further examinations of the
object, allowing it to remain undiscovered until nearly two hundred
years later. Only once has it been visited, in August of 1989,
Voyager 2 allowed astronomers to capture its uniquely active
atmosphere, with strong westward winds, opposite of its rotation.
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