Showing posts with label Neptune. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Neptune. Show all posts

Saturday, October 18, 2014

Neptune - Voyager 2


We've learned about space exploration of Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus.

Next up is Neptune.

Neptune is the last planet in our Solar System.
We used to consider Pluto a planet, but it is so far away we've never reached it with a spacecraft.

Voyager 2 is the only space craft to visit Neptune.
It took 9 years to get to Uranus, and 12 years to get to Neptune in 1989!

When Voyager 2 made it to Neptune, it studied the atmosphere, rings and moons.
It discovered something called the Great Dark Spot, and many geysers on one of the moons called Triton.

It found four rings and six moons.


(from: wikipedia - neptune)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Black Hole

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Neptune


We just learned about the planet of Uranus.

Neptune is the eighth and last planet in our solar system,
but it wasn't always that way!
neptune
(from: wikipedia - neptune)

For almost 100 years, Neptune was known as the last planet in our solar system.
Then in 1930, someone discovered Pluto!

For 40 years, Pluto was the furthest planet from the Sun in our solar system,
but then in 1979 it's orbit brought it closer to the Sun and Neptune became the furthest (and ninth) planet.

It was like that for 20 years and then switched back to Pluto being furthest.

Then in 2006, Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet,
making Neptune the furthest again.