Neptune is one of the planets in our Solar System that has received the least attention and “affection” from both the media and the experts themselves, but that doesn’t mean it’s a boring world, far from it.

Currently, Neptune remains as the most distant planet of those that make up the solar system (always in order of proximity to the Sun), because it used to correspond to Pluto, until it ended up in the category of dwarf planets.

As we already assumed in the title, in this article we will make a compilation of ten surprising facts about the distant world of gas and ice that we know shares a name with Roman god of the sea (Poseidon in Greek mythology).

1.- It is a bluish ball of ice and gas with freezing temperatures

Many believe that Neptune is a pure gas giant, but like Uranus, it presents many differences with those that fit neatly into that category, such as Jupiter and Saturn.

Most importantly, the lower layers of the planet are made up of a large amount of ice, which led experts to classify frost giant

The intense blue color it displays is due to traces of methane found in the outer edge regions. Its temperature can reach up to -224 degrees.

2.- He is sixteen months old, one of them with a “surprise”

As is the case with large planets, Neptune also has a large number of satellites. Experts identified 16 monthsalthough this number could be higher as it has not been definitively closed.

From those months Triton It is the only one that is completely spherical in shape and is believed to have originally been dwarf planet which eventually succumbed to the pull of the ice giant’s gravitational field.

It has been confirmed that Triton is a rocky and icy body, making it very similar to Pluto, and that it also has volcanic activity. It is the coldest known body in the solar system because it records temperatures -235 degrees.

3.- It is the densest gas giant planet in the solar system

Our bluish neighbor is farthest from the Sun, but it is also the fourth largest in the Solar System (third by mass) and the densest of the gas giants.

Its mass is seventeen times that of Earth, and it is also much larger than our planet, as we can see in the attached scaled-down comparison image.

For a better comparison, we present two pieces of information, the Earth has an equatorial diameter of 12,742 kilometers and Neptune reaches up to 49,244 km.

4.- Its gravity is similar to that of the Earth

As we said, this ice giant does not fall into the pure gas giant category, but it has things in common with them, and one of them is that theoretically we could not step on its surfacewe would descend until we reached its solid core.

However, the gravitational force that would pull us to the planet’s core is very similar to what we have on Earth.

According to the latest studies of Neptune’s gravity only exceeds Earth by 17%. This is possible because although it has 17 times the mass, it is also four times larger (on average), meaning that this mass is spread out and not as concentrated.

5.- It has the strongest winds in the solar system

Do you think a tornado is scary? Yes, of course, because we are talking about winds of more than 480 kilometers per hour, but with this information in mind, imagine what kind of wind 2400 kilometers per hour.

That’s the speed they reach on Neptune, and experts say it’s possible because of the low friction that exists in the planet’s atmosphere, due to the low temperatures and constant flow of gases.

6.- One year on Neptune corresponds to 165 Earth flights

A year in our blue neighbor, understood as the time required to complete one revolution around the Sun, is equivalent 165 years on Earth.

This means that a person would not live a full year on Neptune, and according to the current average life expectancy, would not even reach half of a Neptunian year.

However, the day hardly lasts 16 hours and 6 minutes, due to the high speed of the planet on its own axis. A day on Earth is 24 hours long, so we can clearly see the difference.

7.- It has rings, but very weak

Like other large planets like Jupiter, the sea god planet also has rings, although they are very faint and faint.

They are composed mostly of particles and remnants of dust and carbon-based rocks, making them more similar to those of Jupiter than to those of Saturn or Uranus.

The total was identified five rings of very different sizes. The smallest ones are around 100 kilometers wide, while the largest reach 5000 kilometers.

8.- Its climate is extreme and very active

Gas giants are characterized by very active and extensive storms, and Neptune is no exception in this sense.

We have already seen that its winds can reach a speed of 2,400 kilometers per hour, but areas have also been identified where huge storm clusters are caused with impressive consequences.

One of them was called “The Great Dark Spot”, a region that was compared to Jupiter’s “Great Red Spot”, but which was eventually assimilated to a large depression in Neptune’s atmosphere. Its size was similar to that on Earth.

9.- It is a little “unknown” even for experts

It is clear that we know things about Neptune and that it is not completely alien to us, but until 1989 the data about this planet was minimal.

This year was marked by a visit to the planet The Voyager 2 probewhich helped us get to know this gas giant a little better and get important data and information.

However, no other missions that would continue the study took place, and there are no plans to do so even today.

10.- It is very far away and may have a core with huge diamonds

We know it’s the last planet in the solar system, so it takes a long time to get there, but do you know how long?

We can’t give you an exact number, but at that time the Voyager 2 mission (launched in 1977) was It took 12 years for him to come. As for New Horizons, launched in 2006, it took nine years to reach Pluto, which is even further than Neptune.

And finally, another strange fact is that it is believed that the core of Neptune could be formed giant diamondsthough it would be impossible to obtain them, at least by present means.

11.- It was the first planet located using mathematical calculations

And this is very strange, because as I told you before, until relatively recently it was a little known planet even to the most experts. His discovery It was made in 1846 by Johann Gall, although the credit was not entirely his, as he used the mathematical calculations and predictions of Urbain Le Verrier.

The name of the given planet was proposed by Le Verrier, who decided to call it Neptune. in honor of the Roman god of the sea. In Greek mythology, this god is identified as Poseidon, and the truth is, given the bluish color of this planet, it fits him like a glove.

12.- It’s not as blue as it seems

Neptune’s atmosphere consists mainly of hydrogen and helium, accompanied by a small amount of methane. This configuration of materials is similar to that of Uranus, but we can see in the photos that it is a much lighter blue color and that it even has a small greenish tint, bringing it closer to a turquoise blue color.

In contrast, Neptune has a very intense deep blue color. The methane present on both planets absorbs all colors except blue and reflects the latter. So why is there such a difference in color between them? It’s very simple because the team responsible for the Voyager probe he retouched the pictures more clearly reveal clouds and other structures on the planet.

The truth is like this both planets are very similar in coloras we can see in the new images shared by the University of Oxford.

13.- Life on Neptune is impossible

Its extreme conditions explain it perfectly, and it is so on this planet specifics are not given which we can find in others, such as Venus, where there are layers of its atmosphere that meet the necessary conditions to host simple life forms such as extremophile organisms.

Life is impossible on Neptune because its temperatures are too cold, its pressure too high, and because the materials that make up this plane are extreme and volatile, making it frozen hell where even the most extreme organisms we know would not have a chance to survive.

14.- The light will arrive in four hours

As some of our readers know, light travels at speed 299,792,458 meters per secondan astonishing number, especially considering that a Formula 1 car usually reaches a speed of 97 meters per second.

Despite this high speed, Neptune is so far from the Sun that light arrives in four hours. This means that it is located about 4.5 billion kilometers from the Sun, which corresponds to 30 astronomical units.

15.- Its magnetic field is 27 times stronger than Earth’s

Something logical given that it is a frozen fig. The main axis of said magnetic field It has a slope of about 47 degrees compared to the axis of rotation of this planet, as is the case with other similar planets such as Uranus, which has a magnetic axis tilted by 60 degrees to the axis of rotation.

This tilt has a significant impact on the planet’s magnetosphere and causes its experiences extreme variation something is not happening during its rotation that does not happen on Earth, whose magnetic field is inclined only 11.5 degrees relative to the head of rotation.

Interesting links: MC Specials.

Cover image: NASA.