Post by shadowdragon on Jul 6, 2015 11:58:08 GMT
Neptune is the eighth and farthest planet from the Sun in the Solar System. It is the fourth-largest planet by diameter and the third-largest by mass. Among the gaseous planets in the Solar System, Neptune is the most dense. Neptune is 17 times the mass of Earth and is slightly more massive than its near-twin Uranus, which is 15 times the mass of Earth, and not as dense as Neptune. Neptune orbits the Sun at an average distance of 30.1 astronomical units (4.50×109 km). Named after the Roman god of the sea, its astronomical symbol is ♆, a stylised version of the god Neptune's trident.
Neptune is not visible to the unaided eye and was the first and only planet found by mathematical prediction rather than by empirical observation. Unexpected changes in the orbit of Uranus led Alexis Bouvard to deduce that its orbit was subject to gravitational perturbation by an unknown planet. Neptune was subsequently observed with a telescope on 23 September 1846 by Johann Galle within a degree of the position predicted by Urbain Le Verrier. Its largest moon, Triton, was discovered shortly thereafter, though none of the planet's remaining 13 moons were located telescopically until the 20th century.
In contrast to the hazy, relatively featureless atmosphere of Uranus, Neptune's atmosphere has active and visible weather patterns. For example, at the time of the 1989 Voyager 2 flyby, the planet's southern hemisphere had a Great Dark Spot comparable to the Great Red Spot on Jupiter. These weather patterns are driven by the strongest sustained winds of any planet in the Solar System, with recorded wind speeds as high as 2,100 kilometres per hour (580 m/s; 1,300 mph).[15] Because of its great distance from the Sun, Neptune's outer atmosphere is one of the coldest places in the Solar System, with temperatures at its cloud tops approaching 55 K (−218 °C). Temperatures at the planet's centre are approximately 5,400 K (5,100 °C).[16][17] Neptune has a faint and fragmented ring system (labelled "arcs"), which may have been detected during the 1960s but was indisputably confirmed only in 1989 by Voyager 2.[18]
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neptune
I give you the windy planet and 2 of it's moons.
Neptune and Moons.kmz (21.76 KB)
This overlay set contains:
1 low resolution Voyager 2 overlay of Neptune
1 tiny resolution Hubble overlay of Neptune
1 tiny resolution shaded relief overlay of Proteus
1 tiny resolution topographic overlay of Proteus
1 Mega resolution overlay of Triton
1 low resolution geologic map of Triton
Named Features
14 images from NASA's Planetary Photojournal
The Saturn overlay is nearing completion with the icy satellites receiving even better maps that what I had originally intended.
The Dwarf Planets, Asteroids, and Comets along with an Exoplanet and the Sun will be next, in time for a potential Ceres update and Pluto.
During that improvements to the Venus and Martian moons overlays will be made in preparation for the Grand Tour Overlay (my methods with making the overlays have improved overtime).
Neptune is not visible to the unaided eye and was the first and only planet found by mathematical prediction rather than by empirical observation. Unexpected changes in the orbit of Uranus led Alexis Bouvard to deduce that its orbit was subject to gravitational perturbation by an unknown planet. Neptune was subsequently observed with a telescope on 23 September 1846 by Johann Galle within a degree of the position predicted by Urbain Le Verrier. Its largest moon, Triton, was discovered shortly thereafter, though none of the planet's remaining 13 moons were located telescopically until the 20th century.
In contrast to the hazy, relatively featureless atmosphere of Uranus, Neptune's atmosphere has active and visible weather patterns. For example, at the time of the 1989 Voyager 2 flyby, the planet's southern hemisphere had a Great Dark Spot comparable to the Great Red Spot on Jupiter. These weather patterns are driven by the strongest sustained winds of any planet in the Solar System, with recorded wind speeds as high as 2,100 kilometres per hour (580 m/s; 1,300 mph).[15] Because of its great distance from the Sun, Neptune's outer atmosphere is one of the coldest places in the Solar System, with temperatures at its cloud tops approaching 55 K (−218 °C). Temperatures at the planet's centre are approximately 5,400 K (5,100 °C).[16][17] Neptune has a faint and fragmented ring system (labelled "arcs"), which may have been detected during the 1960s but was indisputably confirmed only in 1989 by Voyager 2.[18]
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neptune
I give you the windy planet and 2 of it's moons.
Neptune and Moons.kmz (21.76 KB)
This overlay set contains:
1 low resolution Voyager 2 overlay of Neptune
1 tiny resolution Hubble overlay of Neptune
1 tiny resolution shaded relief overlay of Proteus
1 tiny resolution topographic overlay of Proteus
1 Mega resolution overlay of Triton
1 low resolution geologic map of Triton
Named Features
14 images from NASA's Planetary Photojournal
The Saturn overlay is nearing completion with the icy satellites receiving even better maps that what I had originally intended.
The Dwarf Planets, Asteroids, and Comets along with an Exoplanet and the Sun will be next, in time for a potential Ceres update and Pluto.
During that improvements to the Venus and Martian moons overlays will be made in preparation for the Grand Tour Overlay (my methods with making the overlays have improved overtime).