Essay about Neptune The Planet - 1615 Words

Roughly, 30.1 AU (astronomical units) from the Sun (Chaisson McMillan, 2011 p. 316) there is a cold, dark, lifeless planet. We call this planet Neptune, after the Roman god of the sea. The planet Neptune is a very complex one with many different facets. The following will discuss nearly every aspect of the planet from its history, to the general composition of the planet, and everything in between. Neptune began just as all the other planets in our solar system did and the condensation theory describes the process of how they formed (Chaisson McMillan, 2011 p. 147). The basic thought process behind the condensation theory is that when a star is born a dust and gas cloud forms and begins rotating around the parent star, planets are†¦show more content†¦315). This means that Neptune did not complete one full orbit around the Sun until July of this year. This full orbit marked Neptune’s first birthday since its discovery. The discovery and creation of the planet are very interesting. However, how do we study and learn more about Neptune? Neptune is the only planet in our solar system that cannot be studied without the aid of an optical tool such as binoculars or a small telescope (â€Å"Neptune Celebrates†, 2011). Neptune cannot be seen without the aid of an optical device because it has an apparent magnitude of +7.8 (Carina, 1990-2008) and our naked eyes c an only see objects with a magnitude of +6 (Chaisson McMillan, 2011, Fig. 17.7, p. 423). The distance of the planet from the Earth, 29.1 AU (Chaisson McMillan, 2011 p. 316), also makes the planet very difficult to study. However, we have visited the planet, or Voyager 2 has. This spacecraft visited the planet in 1989 (NASA, 2010). As of now, no other spacecraft have visited the planet. Voyager 2 also passed very close to one of Neptune’s moons before leaving the solar system (NASA, 2010). Currently there are no plans to visit, or land on the planet. We only observe Neptune with the aid of our telescopes and binoculars. We are able to tell quite a bit about the atmosphere and other characteristics about Neptune, and the rest of this essay will discuss these factors and several others, which help to make this planet very interesting. Neptune’sShow MoreRelatedPlanet Neptune2008 Words   |  9 PagesNeptune  is the eighth and farthest  planet  from the  Sun  in the  Solar System. It is the fourth-largest planet by diameter and the third-largest by mass. Neptune is 17 times the mass of  Earth  and is somewhat more massive than its near-twin  Uranus, which is 15 times the mass of Earth but not as dense.[12]  On average, Neptune orbits the Sun at a distance of 30.1  AU, approximately 30 times the Earth–Sun distance. Named for the  Roman god of the sea, its  astronomical symbol  is ♆, a stylised version of theRead MoreEssay on Terrestrial and Jovian Planets1318 Words   |  6 Pages Terrestrial and Jovian Planets Our solar system contains nine planets, which are broken down into 2 classifications known as terrestrial planets and jovian planets. The terrestrial planets are composed primarily of rock and metal. They also generally have high densities, slow rotation, solid surfaces, no rings, and few satellites. These planets include Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. On the other hand, the jovian planets are composed primarily of hydrogen and helium. They generally haveRead MoreEssay about Solar System1580 Words   |  7 PagesSolar System Humans live on a small planet in a tiny part of a vast universe. This part of the universe is called the solar system, and is dominated by a single brilliant star-the sun. 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