Besides the Earth, there is another blue planet in the solar system - Neptune. In 1846, it was discovered by mathematical calculations, not observations.
What is the farthest planet in the solar system from the Sun?
In 1930, Pluto was discovered. Until 2006, it was considered the last ninth planet in the solar system. Whereas Neptune is only the eighth. However, in 2006, the International Astronomical Union gave a new meaning to the term "planet", under which Pluto did not fall. There are even versions that it does not belong to the solar system, but is part of the Kuiper belt.
He also lost this title from 1979 to 1999, at which time Pluto was inside the orbit of the planet Neptune.
In this regard, answering the question: "Name the most distant planet in the solar system" - you can hear both names as an answer.
Neptune in Roman mythology is the god of the sea.
Opening
Officially, the most distant planet in the solar system - Neptune - was discovered in 1846. However, back in 1612 it was described by Galileo. But then he considered hera fixed star, which is why he was not recognized as its discoverer.
The existence of a new planet was thought about in 1821, when data were published with a change in the orbit of Uranus, which differed from the values in the tables.
But it wasn't until September 23, 1846, after two months of searching, that Neptune's orbit was discovered through mathematical calculations.
It got its name thanks to the mathematician who discovered it (W. Liverier), who originally wanted to name the planet after himself.
What is the farthest planet in the solar system? Description
Neptune is constantly immersed in twilight. Its illumination is 900 times less than our planet. The sun from orbit appears to be just a bright star.
The giant is located at a distance of 4.55 billion km, which is about 30 AU. e. It has a mass of 17, 15 times more than the planet Earth, and a diameter of 4 times more. Its average density is only one and a half times higher than water (1.6 g / cubic cm). Thus, Neptune belongs to the group of giant planets, which also includes Saturn, Jupiter and Uranus.
The farthest planet in the solar system is also called icy, since the mass of helium and hydrogen in its composition is no more than 15-20%.
Like other giants, Neptune rotates on its axis with great speed. Its day is only 16, 11 hours. Around the Sun, it makes a revolution in an almost circular orbit in 164.8 years. In 2011 hecompleted its first full rotation since opening.
Strong winds prevail on the surface of Neptune, the average speed of which is 400 m/s.
Interestingly, the planet's temperature is -214 C when it should be much lower. It is known that the outermost planet in the solar system has its own heat source inside, since it radiates 2.7 times more energy into space than it absorbs from the Sun.
The planet is constantly changing seasons. One season lasts about 40 years.
Satellites
The outermost planet in the solar system has 14 satellites. They are usually divided into three groups:
- internal: Talas, Naiad, Galatea, Despina, Larisa, Proteus;
- separate Nereid and Triton;
- The five outer satellites are unnamed.
The first group includes dark blocks reaching 100-200 km and having an irregular shape. They rotate in a circular orbit almost in the plane of the equator. They fly around the planet in just a few hours.
The second group includes Triton. This is a fairly large satellite. Its diameter is about 2700 km, it makes a complete revolution around Neptune in 6 days. Moves in a spiral, slowly approaching the planet. Someday it will fall on Neptune and under the influence of tidal forces will turn into another ring. Its surface is cold, it is believed that the ocean is raging under the crust of ice.
Nereid flies around the giant in 360 days. It has an irregular shape.
External satellites are ona great distance (tens of millions of kilometers) from Neptune. The most distant one orbits the planet in 25 years. Taking into account their orbit, equatorial tilt, and reversal, it was concluded that they were Kuiper Belt objects captured by Neptune.
The last satellite was discovered in July 2013.
Neptune has five rings of ice particles. Some of them have carbon in their composition, due to which they emit a red color. They are considered relatively young and short-lived. The rings of Neptune are unstable and differ significantly from each other.
Interesting facts
Answering the question of which distant planet in the solar system the famous Voyager 2 spacecraft was launched to, we can say that it was originally sent to explore Saturn and Jupiter, but the trajectory also made it possible to reach Uranus and Neptune. It was launched in 1977.
August 24, 1989, he flew 48 thousand km from Neptune. At this time, photographs of the planet and its satellite Triton were sent to Earth.
In 2016, it was planned to send another spacecraft to the planet. However, there are no firm launch dates yet.
