The eighth planet from the Sun and last of the gas giants, Neptune was first observed in 1846 exactly where astronomers predicted it would be.,,,,. (This prediction was based on " irregularities" in the orbit of its neighboring planet, Uranus). Methane gas in Neptune's atmosphere gives it a deep blue coloration. Photo taken by the Voyager 2 space probe show that several huge cyclonic storms exist in its atmosphere. The largest of theses is called the Great Dark Spot, similar to Jupiter's Great Red Spot. The Hubble Space Telescope has recently photographed the planet and the Great Dark Spot is gone. New storms are forming. It took twelve years of traveling through space for Voyager 2 to reach this cold, distant planet , but once it arrived it also discovered six of Neptune's eight known moons. It also photographed a large area of cirrus cloud that races around the planets surface. This cloud's name? Scooter! Did you know? It is possible, some believe, that Neptune may contain diamonds. High temperatures and pressure near the core may have squeezed carbon (freed from methane gas) into diamonds.
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