Then the northern pole will become the warmer one, and the south pole will cool down. As Neptune continues its journey around the Sun, the position of the poles will reverse. This “hot spot” occurs because Neptune’s south pole is currently exposed to the Sun. Here, it is 10 degrees K warmer than the rest of planet. Whereas Neptune averages the coldest temperatures in the Solar System, a strange anomaly is the planet’s south pole. The huge temperature differences between Neptune’s center and its surface create huge wind storms, which can reach as high as 2,100 km/hour, making them the fastest in the Solar System. At its core, Neptune reaches temperatures of up to 7273 K (7000 ☌ 12632 ☏), which is comparable to the surface of the Sun. In short, the deeper one goes into Neptune, the hotter it becomes. At this temperature, conditions are suitable for methane to condense, and clouds of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide are thought to form (which is what gives Neptune its characteristically dark cyan coloring).īut as with all gas and ice giants, temperatures vary on Neptune due to depth and pressure. It is also at this level that temperatures reach their recorded high of 72 K (-201.15 ☌ -330 ☏). It is here on Neptune, just below the upper level clouds, that pressures reach between 1 and 5 bars (100 – 500 kPa). As a result, astronomers have relied on measurements obtained at altitudes where the atmospheric pressure is equal to 1 bar (or 100 kilo Pascals), the equivalent of air pressure here on Earth at sea level.Ĭolor-contrasted photo showing Neptune’s atmospheric features. “Surface” Temperature:ĭue to their composition, determining a surface temperature on gas or ice giants (compared to terrestrial planets or moons) is technically impossible. In addition, the planets axial tilt also leads to variations in the length of its day, as well as variations in temperature between the northern and southern hemispheres (see below). Combined with its long orbital period, this means that the seasons last for forty Earth years. This means that a single day lasts 67% as long on Neptune, whereas a year is the equivalent of approximately 60,190 Earth days (or 89,666 Neptunian days).īecause Neptune’s axial tilt (28.32°) is similar to that of Earth (~23°) and Mars (~25°), the planet experiences similar seasonal changes. Neptune takes 16 hours 6 minutes and 36 seconds (0.6713 days) to complete a single sidereal rotation, and 164.8 Earth years to complete a single orbit around the Sun. Neptune and the icy-asteroid-rich Kuiper Belt that lies beyond its orbit. With a very minor eccentricity ( 0.0086), it orbits the Sun at an semi-major axis of approximately 30.11 AU ( 4,504,450,000,000 km), ranging from 29.81 AU ( 4.459 x 10 9 km) at perihelion and 30.33 AU ( 4.537 x 10 9 km) at aphelion. Of all the planets in the Solar System, Neptune orbits the Sun at the greatest average distance. All told, the planet experiences temperatures that range from approximately 55 K (-218 ☌ -360 ☏) to 72 K (-200 ☌ -328 ☏), making it the coldest planet in the Solar System. While this gas/ice giant has no “surface” to speak of, Earth-based research and flybys have been conducted that have managed to obtain accurate measurements of the temperature in the planet’s upper atmosphere. It is in this environment that we find Neptune, the Solar System’s most distance (and hence most cold) planet. water, ammonia, methane, CO and CO²) condense into solids – can get mighty cold! Whereas conditions within the inner Solar System, where planets are terrestrial in nature, can get pretty hot, planets that orbit beyond the Frost Line – where it is cold enough that volatiles (i.e. Between its eight planets and many dwarf planets, there are some serious differences in terms of orbit, composition, and temperature.
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