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< back to Planets
The Planets: Planet Neptune
Neptune is the eighth of nine planets in our solar system. Neptune is one of the outer "gas giant" planets.
The fourth-largest planet in the solar system is so far away that a good pair of binoculars or telescope is needed to find it. Neptune is best viewed in summer in the constellation Capricornus,
| Neptune Facts |
| Mass (kg) |
1.024e+26 |
| Radius (km) |
24,746 |
| Density (gm/cm3) |
1.64 |
| Distance from Sun (km) |
4,504,300,000 |
| Period of rotation (hrs) |
16.11 |
| Period of orbit (yrs) |
164.79 |
| Orbital velocity (km/sec) |
5.45 |
| Eccentricity of orbit |
0.0097 |
| Tilt of axis (°) |
28.31 |
| Inclination of orbit (°) |
1.774 |
| surface gravity (m/sec2) |
11.0 |
| escape velocity (km/sec) |
23.50 |
| Visual albedo |
0.41 |
| Visual magnitude |
7.84 |
| cloud temperature |
-173°C |
| Atmosphere |
Hydrogen=85%
Helium=13%
Methane=2%
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| Moons |
13 |
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Neptune can be viewed with binoculars and all telescopes.
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