Neptune Stories
Filters
NASA’s Hubble Celebrates Decade of Tracking Outer Planets
Encountering Neptune in 1989, NASA’s Voyager mission completed humankind’s first close-up exploration of the four giant outer planets of our solar system. Collectively, since their launch in 1977, the twin Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 spacecraft discovered that Jupiter, Saturn,…
Ed Stone, Former Director of JPL, Voyager Project Scientist, Dies
Known for his steady leadership, consensus building, and enthusiasm for engaging the public in science, Stone left a deep impact on the space community. Edward C. Stone, former director of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, and longtime project…
Neptune’s Disappearing Clouds Linked to the Solar Cycle
Astronomers have uncovered a link between Neptune's shifting cloud abundance and the 11-year solar cycle, in which the waxing and waning of the Sun's entangled magnetic fields drives solar activity.
All Eyes on the Ice Giants
NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft plans to observe Uranus and Neptune from its location far out in the outer solar system this fall, and the mission team is inviting the global amateur astronomy community to come along for the ride –…
New Webb Image Captures Clearest View of Neptune’s Rings in Decades
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope shows off its capabilities closer to home with its first image of Neptune. Not only has Webb captured the clearest view of this distant planet’s rings in more than 30 years, but its cameras reveal…
Gravity Assist: It’s Raining Diamonds on These Planets
Follow via Apple Podcasts Follow via SoundCloud Follow via RSS Feed Left: Arriving at Uranus in 1986, Voyager 2 observed a bluish orb with subtle features. A haze layer hid most of the planet’s cloud features from view. Right: This image of…
Why Uranus and Neptune Are Different Colors
Neptune and Uranus have much in common yet their appearances are notably different. Astronomers now have an explanation for why the two planets are different colors.
New Study Finds Unexpected Temperature Changes on Neptune
The average global temperature on Neptune unexpectedly fluctuated during a recent 17-year period, according to a new study.
Hubble’s Grand Tour of the Outer Solar System
From its vantage point high above Earth’s atmosphere, NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has completed this year’s grand tour of the outer solar system – returning crisp images that complement current and past observations from interplanetary spacecraft. This is the realm…
Dark Storm on Neptune Reverses Direction, Possibly Shedding a Fragment
Astronomers using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope watched a mysterious dark vortex on Neptune abruptly steer away from a likely death on the giant blue planet. The storm, which is wider than the Atlantic Ocean, was born in the planet’s northern…