PLANET NEPTUNE

-

Neptune is the eighth and the farthest known planet from the Sun in our Solar System. This is the fourth largest planet in terms of diameter and third largest in terms of mass. It's mass is 17 times than that if the Earth and slightly more than its twin planet, Uranus. Neptune is denser and physically smaller than Uranus because its greater mass causes more gravitational compression of its atmosphere. It is named after the Roman God of the Sea and has the astronomical symbol ♆, a stylised burning of the God Neptune's trident. 


We can't see Neptune with our naked eyes and it is the only planet in the Solar System which is found using mathematical predictions and not by empirical observation. Neptune was visited by Voyager 2, when it flew by the planet on 25 August 1989; Voyager 2 remains the only spacecraft to visit Neptune. 

Physical Characteristics

Like Jupiter and Saturn, Neptune primarily consists of hydrogen and helium and traces of hydrocarbons and possibly nitrogen, though it contains a high proportion of "ices" such as water, ammonia an methane. Similar to Uranus its interior composed of ices and rocks and that's why Uranus and Neptune are called as "Gas Giants". 


Its atmosphere forms about 5 to 10% of its mass and extends perhaps 10 to 20% of the way towards the core, about 10000 times of Earth's atmosphere. Higher concentration of methane and ammonia are found in the lowe region of the atmosphere. Neptune's mantle is rich in water, methane and ammonia and is equivalent to 10 to 15 Earth masses. This dense fluid, which has a high electrical conductivity is sometimes called a water-ammonia ocean. The methane decomposes into diamond crystals that rain downwards like hailstones at a depth of approximately 7,000 km(4350 mi). Scientists also believe that this kind of diamond rain occurs on Jupiter Saturn and Uranus also. 


The core of Neptune is likely composed of iron, nickel and silicates, with an interior model giving a mass about 1.2 times that of Earth and has a temperature of approximately 5,400 K. 

Atmosphere

Neptune's outermost atmosphere consists of 80% hydrogen and 19% helium, with trace amounts of methane. Neptune's atmosphere is subdivided into two main regions: the lower troposphere, where temperature decreases with altitude, and the stratosphere, where temperature increases with altitude. The boundary between the two is the tropopause. The stratosphere then gives way to the thermosphere and the thermosphere gradually transitions to the exosphere. Standard model suggests that Neptune's troposphere is covered with clouds of various compositions depending on altitude. 



The upper level clouds are present where the temperature is suitable for methane to condense and clouds of ammonia and hydrogen sulphide are thought to form. After that clouds are made up of ammonia, ammonium sulphide, hydrogen sulphide and water. Deeper clouds of water ice should be found where the temperature reaches 273 K (0°C). Underneath, clouds of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide may be found. Neptune's spectra suggests that its lower stratosphere is hazy due to presence of of ethane and ethyne. The stratosphere is also home to trace amounts of carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide. The stratosphere of Neptune is warmer than that of Uranus due to the elevated concentration of hydrocarbons.

Magnetosphere

Neptune's Magnetic Field is similar to taht of Uranus which is strongly tilted relative to its rotational axis at 47° and offset at least 0.55 radii, or about 13,500 km from the planet's physical centre. Neptune Magneto sphere is populated with fewer protons and electrons per unit volume than that of any other Giant planet. Near the magnetic poles, the charged particles in the Magnetosphere can travel along magnetic field lines into the atmosphere. 

Here are some of the important figures related to the planet Neptune:

1. Distance from Sun:  4.5 billion km (2.8 million mi)

2. Diameter: 49,244km (30,598 mi)

3. Gravity: 11.15m/s²

4. Solar day: 16 hours

5. Solar Year: 164.8 Earth years
 
6. Satellites: 14 known moons

7. Surface Area: 7.618 billion km²

8. Volume: 6.254*10¹³km³

9. Mass: 1.024*10²⁶ kg

10. Density: 1.64 g/cm³




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts

LIFE CYCLE OF A STAR!

-
Image
Outlined below are the many steps involved in a stars evolution, from its formation in nebula, to its death as a white dwarf or neutron star. NEBULA A Nebula is a cloud of gas(hydrogen) and dust in space. Nebulae are the birth places of stars. There are different types of nebula. An emission nebula e.g. such as Orion nebula, glows brightly because the gas in it is energized by the stars that have already formed within it. In a Reflection Nebula, starlight reflects on the grains of dust in a nebula. The nebula surrounding the Pleiades Cluster is typical of a reflection nebula. Dark Nebula also exist. These are dense clouds of molecular hydrogen which partially or completely absorb the light from the stars behind them e.g. the Horsehead nebula in Orion. Planetary Nebula are the outer layers of a star that are lost when the star changes from a red giant to a white dwarf.   Shop now at Amazon Pantry at best deals Amazon Pantry STAR A star is a luminous globe of gas producing its own he...
Read more

GRAVITY

-
Image
GRAVITY What is Space Time Continuum? Time is not completely separate from and independent of space, but is combined with it to form an object called space-time. It is a matter of common experience that one can describe the position of a point in space by three numbers, or coordinates. For instance, one can say that a point in a room is 7 feet from 1 wall, 3 feet from another and 5 feet above the floor. Or one could specify that a point was at a certain latitude and longitude and a certain height above sea level. One would not specify the position of the moon in terms of kilometres north and kilometres west of a building on Earth and some feet above sea level. Instead, one might describe it in terms of distance from the Sun, distance from the plane of the orbits of the planets, and the angle between the line joining the Moon to the Sun and the line joining the Sun to a nearby star such as Alpha Centauri. Even these coordinates would not be of much use in describing the position of the ...
Read more

THE SOLAR SYSTEM

-
Image
Here are some amazing elements that our SOLAR SYSTEM consists.  1. Sun The Sun is a star present at the centre of the Solar System. It is spherical in shape and is emmiting huge amount of light and infrared radiations with heat due to the nuclear fusion reactions in its core. It is a type of G-Typemain Sequence Star with a life span of approximately 10 billion years.  2. Planets Our Solar System consists of eight planets named Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, ordered in their respective distances from the Sun.  The smallest and the nearest planet to the is Mercury and the largest planet is Jupiter. The hottest planet is Venus and the coldest is Neptune. Listed below is the time taken by every planet to rotate around its Axis and revolve around the Sun. Planet             Rotation              Revolution    1. Mercury.    58d 15h 30m    ...
Read more

CRAZY SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS IN SPACE SHUTTLE

-
Image
Outlined below are some of the coolest Space Shuttle Science Experiments: 1. Microbes Get More Virulent In Microgravity. Experiments aboard the space shuttle have shown that salmonella bacteria, a   common and sometimes deadly source of food poisoning, get more virulent in space. Scientist believe that the bacteria get ramped up because space flight tricks them into behaving as if they're inside the human gut. The shuttle missions also identified dozens of genes that seem to be involved in the hyper-virulence, as well as "master switch" protein that regulates many of these genes.  2. Space Roses Smell Different. It sounds like some sort of symbolic or ceremonial gesture: The Shuttle Discovery carried a single rose to orbit on its STS-95 mission in 1998. But there was science, and business, behind the move. The company International Flavours and Fragrances (IFF) wanted to see how microgravity altered the sweet and familiar scent of a Rose — and if a new perfume component m...
Read more

NASA FOUND SALT TRACES ON MARS...

-
Image
Recently, after the testing of the samples brought from the Red Planet (Mars), NASA said that there are some possibilities of organic salt present on Mars. After this research of NASA our understanding of Mars's surface will improve. Also this will help in finding life forms in Mars as well as on different Planets. In an interview NASA said that organic compound and salt traces on Mars could be a mark of geographical processes or bacterias, like that of found by the Curiosity Rover. Salts Could Be Made from Geological Processes..... According to one research, the iron, calcium and magnesium oxalate and acetate affected by radiation and oxidation together can combine to mix up with the organic salts. These salts could be made from Geological Processes or these are the remains of micro organisms. Possibilities Of Life On Red Planet Increases.... According to NASA traces of salt could increase the possibility of organic matter present on Mars. On Earth as well such type of life forms ...
Read more