These views of Neptune, as seen through the Hubble Space Telescope, are helping planetary scientists gain some insight into the weird and wild weather that is a hallmark of the eighth planet from the sun. On Neptune, winds blow at 900 miles per hour and huge storms – some the size of Earth itself – come and go with regularity. How, precisely, Neptune's weather is driven is a mystery since the sun, which drives the Earth's weather, is 900 times dimmer there than on Earth. The bottom images show Neptune's Hubble portrait circa 1996. The top images were taken this year and help illustrate the dynamic weather features that dominate the planet.
Credits
Lawrence A. Sromovsky (University of Wisconsin-Madison) and NASA| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | Neptune |
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | A name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object. |
| Object Description | The type of astronomical object. |
| R.A. Position | Right ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Dec. Position | Declination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Constellation | One of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears. |
| Distance | The physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs. |
| Dimensions | The physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky. |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description |
|
| Instrument | The science instrument used to produce the data. |
| Exposure Dates | The date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time. |
| Filters | The camera filters that were used in the science observations. |
| About The Image | |
| Image Credit | The primary individuals and institutions responsible for the content. |
| Publication Date | The date and time the release content became public. |
| Color Info | A brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented. |
| Orientation | The rotation of the image on the sky with respect to the north pole of the celestial sphere. |
