Neptune, the planet which is called by this name after Neptune, the Roman God, has the Astronomical Symbol as the Poseidon’s Trident. Neptune is a very deep and dense planet and its mass is 17 times than that of the earth. This planet is the fourth largest in diameter and by mass it stands to be the third largest in the solar system.
The atmosphere on Neptune is made up on helium and hydrogen and there are small traces of the methane gas. The methane gas present gives it the blue colour and it is more vivid the colour of Uranus. There is a Dark Spot in similar lines with the Red Spot on Jupiter. The Winds on Neptune are stronger than on any other planet. The temperature is close to -218 degree centigrade which is coldest in the whole solar system and this is due to being very far off from the sun. The temperature at the core is 7000 degree centigrade which is comparable to that of the sun’s surface.
Neptune was first discovered in 1846. Voyager 2, the spacecraft had visited this planet. Neptune was mistaken by Galileo to be a star that was known to be “fixed”. This was when it was close to Jupiter, the biggest planet, in the sky at night. However, Neptune’s motion could not be detected on Galileo’s telescope as the motion was too slight.