A “Day” in the Life of Planet Neptune
July 13th 2011 02:00
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Image of Neptune taken by Voyager 2 1989 : image NASA/JPL
Just a tad over 160 odd years ago since planet Neptune was discovered, but the planet for the most part still remains an enigma.
We have sent passing space probes to investigate the planet . Voyager 2 flew passed the gas giant 1989 giving us Earthlings our first close look at the big ball of Methane gas.
What drives Neptune’s massive weather systems is the planet’s rapid spin rate. Like Jupiter and Saturn and to a lesser extent Uranus and Neptune is that these planets rotate at a very rapid rate.
Jupiter’s “day” is a fraction under10 hours. (9 hours, 55 minutes this value is just an average but who’s counting)
That’s pretty fast for such a massive planet, imagine the enormous winds turbulence and violent storms generated on these massive planets.
For over twenty years it was believed that one "day" on Neptune lasted 16 hours 6.5 minutes.
This was based on observations from Earth based telescopes and data from Voyager 2.
The time period for Neptune has been revised based on observations taken over two decades.
The new data on two prominent atmospheric features on Neptune suggest that Neptune’s “day” is only 15 hours 57. Now that’s only a few minutes difference but in the “light” of new data and better measuring techniques a more precise value has been made.
When it comes to calculating any data a few discrepancies can make a big difference in the outcome.
Voyager 2 did fly pass the four gas giants and the techniques used in determining a planet’s rotation was based on the speed and angle of Voyager 2 flight path. This early data gave us our first hint of how fast these planet’s were rotating.
Data from the Cassini orbiter taken some 15 years later showed that the method used by Voyager2 in determining the orbital rotation of these gas giants was not without its flaws.
Since then the orbital ration of the four gas giants has been revised. When viewed through a telescope these gas giants look reasonable serene, but little de we know as what’s really going on beneath the clouds.
We have sent passing space probes to investigate the planet . Voyager 2 flew passed the gas giant 1989 giving us Earthlings our first close look at the big ball of Methane gas.
What drives Neptune’s massive weather systems is the planet’s rapid spin rate. Like Jupiter and Saturn and to a lesser extent Uranus and Neptune is that these planets rotate at a very rapid rate.
Jupiter’s “day” is a fraction under10 hours. (9 hours, 55 minutes this value is just an average but who’s counting)
That’s pretty fast for such a massive planet, imagine the enormous winds turbulence and violent storms generated on these massive planets.
For over twenty years it was believed that one "day" on Neptune lasted 16 hours 6.5 minutes.
This was based on observations from Earth based telescopes and data from Voyager 2.
The time period for Neptune has been revised based on observations taken over two decades.
The new data on two prominent atmospheric features on Neptune suggest that Neptune’s “day” is only 15 hours 57. Now that’s only a few minutes difference but in the “light” of new data and better measuring techniques a more precise value has been made.
When it comes to calculating any data a few discrepancies can make a big difference in the outcome.
Voyager 2 did fly pass the four gas giants and the techniques used in determining a planet’s rotation was based on the speed and angle of Voyager 2 flight path. This early data gave us our first hint of how fast these planet’s were rotating.
Data from the Cassini orbiter taken some 15 years later showed that the method used by Voyager2 in determining the orbital rotation of these gas giants was not without its flaws.
Since then the orbital ration of the four gas giants has been revised. When viewed through a telescope these gas giants look reasonable serene, but little de we know as what’s really going on beneath the clouds.
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Comment by S.L.
The Political Brief
Comment by CMoreStars
Astroearth
Camera Sense
Hello S.L.
The gas giants namely Jupiter and Saturn including Neptune and Uranus have a small solid core at their center depending on the planet.
The four larger planets have a small core varying in size. It can be as small as 3 Earth Masses to as much as 20 Earth Masses.
Jupiter and Saturn ,Neptune and Uranus are referred to as gas giants. There basically a big ball of gas with a small rocky core.