Neptune

The farthest and windiest planet

Neptune is the farthest planet from the Sun. It is deep blue, like the deep sea. Neptune has the strongest winds in the Solar System — faster than a jet plane! Neptune is so far away that it takes 165 years to go around the Sun once.

Neptune is the eighth and farthest planet from the Sun, an ice giant. It was the first planet found through mathematics: astronomers noticed wobbles in Uranus's orbit and calculated where an unknown planet must be (1846). Methane in its atmosphere gives Neptune its deep blue colour. Winds reach 2,100 km/h — the fastest in the system. Its largest moon, Triton, orbits backwards and erupts nitrogen geysers — it is probably a captured Kuiper Belt object. Only Voyager 2 (1989) has ever visited Neptune.

Fun facts

• Since its discovery (1846), Neptune has completed just one full orbit of the Sun — in 2011.
• Winds on Neptune hit 2,100 km/h — faster than the speed of sound!
• Neptune's moon Triton is one of the coldest places in the Solar System: −235 °C.
• Like Jupiter, Neptune has storms that come and go — the 'Great Dark Spots'.