NEPTUNE
Neptune was discovered by German astronomer Johann Galle in 1846. Its largest moon, Triton, was recorded a few days later. Besides that, very little was known about Neptune until the space probe Voyager 2 visited it in 1989.
A bright blue globe, Neptune almost completely lacks surface features. At the time it was photographed by Voyager, a storm system, called the Great Dark Spot (which later disappeared), could be seen racing in a direction opposite to the planet’s rotation. Winds on Neptune blow at more than 2000 kilometres per hour.
Like the other gas giants, Neptune has a system of rings. There are four extremely faint rings, composed of dark, icy fragments.
VOYAGER 2
The greatest journey by a space probe so far undertaken was made by Voyager 2. Between 1979 and 1989, it flew close by Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, transmitting superbly clear pictures of the planets and their moons. Voyager has since sped away from the Solar System, although it continues to send back signals – 20 billion times weaker than those of a watch battery!
Voyager is playing its part in the search for life in other solar systems. Should aliens ever come across the space probe they will find an audiovisual disc on board. If they play it, they will hear, among other things, the sounds of whales, baby crying and greetings in 55 languages.
Picture Credit : Google