

![]() Neptune's moon, Triton, is slowly getting closer to Neptune. Eventually, it will get so close that it may get torn apart by Neptune's gravity and possibly form rings more spectacular than Saturn's.
|

Since its discovery in 1846, Neptune has completed only one full orbit of the
Sun. In fact, it takes 165 years for the planet to go around
the Sun.

Neptune was discovered when scientists noticed something peculiar
about Uranus' orbit, believing something to be pulling it in the
opposite direction to the Sun's pull
of gravity.
They calculated the position of a planet and soon afterwards,
discovered Neptune.
![]()
The coldest temperatures measured in the Solar
System (-230°c) have been
recorded on Neptune's moon, Triton.
![]()
Pluto, a dwarf planet which has an orbit which sometimes crosses
Neptune's, may have been a moon of Neptune which
escaped the planet's pull of gravity, but being prevented from
escaping the Solar System by the gravitational pull of the Sun.
![]()
VIEW FACTS ABOUT OTHER
DESTINATIONS
The Sun - Mercury - Venus
- Earth - The Moon - Mars
- Jupiter - Saturn - Uranus
- Neptune - Pluto and Dwarf
Planets
![]()
PLANETARY STATISTICS
| NAME | |
| MEANING OF NAME | |
| NAME IN FOREIGN LANGUAGES | |
| AVERAGE DISTANCE FROM THE SUN | Comparison with Earth: 149,597,890 km / 92,955,820 miles / 1.000 A.U. |
| CLOSEST DISTANCE TO THE SUN (PERIHELION) | Comparison with Earth: 147,100,000 km / 91,400,000 miles / 0.983 A.U. |
| FARTHEST DISTANCE FROM THE SUN (APHELION) | Comparison with Earth: 152,100,000 km / 94,500,000 miles / 1.017 A.U. |
| DIAMETER ACROSS EQUATOR |
|
| DIAGRAM SHOWING PLANET'S SIZE COMPARED TO THE SIZE OF EARTH | |
| CIRCUMFERENCE AROUND EQUATOR | Comparison with Earth: 40,074 km / 24,901 miles |
| MASS | Comparison with Earth 5,973,700,000,000,000,000,000,000 kg |
| TIME TO SPIN ON AXIS | Comparison with Earth: 23 hours, 56 minutes |
| TIME TO ORBIT THE SUN (1 YEAR) | Comparison with Earth: 365 days, 6 hours |
| DISTANCE PLANET TRAVELS TO COMPLETE ONE ORBIT | Comparison with Earth: 924,375,700 km / 574,380,400 miles |
| GRAVITY (EARTH = 1) | |
| ESCAPE VELOCITY | Comparison with Earth: 40,248 km/h / 25,009 mph |
| MINIMUM SURFACE TEMPERATURE | Comparison with Earth: -88 °c / -126 °F / 185 K |
| MAXIMUM SURFACE TEMPERATURE | Comparison with Earth: 58 °c / 136 ° F / 331 K |
| WEATHER CONDITIONS | |
| CONTENTS OF ATMOSPHERE | |
| KNOWN MOONS | |
| PAST MISSIONS (including nationality and year of launch) | |
| PRESENT MISSIONS | |
| PLANNED MISSIONS | |
| NOTABLE FEATURES |
![]()
| NEPTUNE MENU | NEPTUNE'S DARK SPOTS | |
| NEPTUNE'S MOONS | TRITON, A MOON OF NEPTUNE | TEN FACTS ABOUT NEPTUNE |
![]()