The planet in my study is Neptune. The five areas that I wish to cover are: physical characteristics, atmpsheric cpmposition, and miscellanious facts.
Neptune was dsicovered in 1846 by a man named Johann Gotfried Galle. It is the outermost planet of the "Gas Giants." Its diameter is 30,760 miles, almost sixty times the size of the Earth. Two thirds of Neptune is made up of a mixture of heated gases comprised of hydrogen, helium, water, and methane. Methane is what gives Neptune its blue color. Neptune has four narrow rings made of dust from small meteorites. Neptune's axis causes the sun to heat the planet's northern and southern halves unequally, resulting in seasons and temprature changes. Tempratures are always much lower than on Earth. The plant and animal life, adapted to the Earth's atmosphere, could not live on Neptune because of the severe temperature.
Neptune contains an eclectic mix of dark spots and clouds that are always changing. There is one area on Neptune referred to as "The Great Dark Spot." This was the planet's most prominent feature at the time of the Voyager encounter. It was about half the diameter of the Earth. Neptune's strong winds blew the spot westward at 700 miles per hour. Voyager 2 saw a smaller spot in the southern hemisphere referred to as "Scooter." Observations in 1994 confirmed that the "Great Dark Spot" had dissapeared. A few months later another spot was discovered in the planet's northern hemisphere. This shows Neptune's rapidly changing atmosphere. This is thought to be due to the slight changes in temperature between the northern and southern hemispheres.
The Great Dark Spot
Neptune is known for its strong winds. The strongest winds ever recorded on a planet were those of Neptune. Neptune trades places with Pluto for about twenty years out of every Plutonian orbit. Since January 1979, Neptune has been the ninth planet, but in March 1999 Pluto again took its place for what will be the next few centuries. It only revolves around the sun once every 165 Earth years, but it rotates on its axis once every nineteen hours. Neptune is nearly impossible to see with the naked eye. A good pair of binoculars or at least an eight inch telescope are needed to see much of anything.
When Neptune was discovered, astronomers named the planet after the god of the sea. They did this in keeping with the tradition of naming planets after mythological figures but also because of its position in deep space. This turned out to be a perfect name when Neptune's deeep blue pigments came through on the first photographs. Its symbol is a stylized trident, like the one the ged himself supposedly carried.
A Parting Look
This has been a brief summation of the facts I have compiled in the planet, Neptune. This planet possesses several different features that separate it from the other planets. Though its atmospheric composition decreases its chances for any known life forms, I think its aesthetic qualities make it far superior to the other planets.