Neptune

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References & Edit History Related Topics

Images, Videos & Interactives

clouds in Neptune's atmosphere

Witness the arrival of Voyager 2 at Neptune after a 12-year journey, August 25, 1989

Neptune's Great Dark Spot

Neptune: Great Dark Spot

clouds on Neptune

moons of Neptune: Triton

Neptune's ring system

For Students

Neptune summary

Read Next

Solar system illustration. (Sun; planets)

A Model of the Cosmos

Remarkable new details of Pluto's largest moon Charon are revealed in this image from New Horizons' Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI), taken late on July 13, 2015 from a distance of 289,000 miles

Why Is Pluto No Longer a Planet?

solar eclipse, sun, moon, astronomy, space

How Do You Tell the Difference Between Total, Annular, Solar, and Lunar Eclipses?

Solar system illustration. (planets; sun)

Why Are Planets Round?

This close-up image of a dust storm on Mars was acquired by the Mars Color Imager instrument on NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on Nov. 7, 2007. This image is centered on Utopia Planitia

Do Hurricanes Happen on Other Planets?

Discover

US Marines firing at Fallujah, Iraq, during the Second Battle of Fallujah in November 2004. Operation Iraqi Freedom, Iraq War.

Timeline of the 2000s

Aurochs. Bos primigenius. Skeleton. Extinct animal. Skeleton of an Aurochs, an extinct wild ox.

6 Animals We Ate Into Extinction

Berries and leaves of the bittersweet nightshade (Solanum dulcamara) plant. Poisonous plant

7 of the World’s Deadliest Plants

King Cobra snake in Malaysia. (reptile)

9 of the World’s Deadliest Snakes

Dancers at a Cinco de Mayo festival at the Mission District, San Francisco, California. (Photo dated 2019.) holidays

Is Cinco de Mayo Mexico's Independence Day?

Ethel Rosenberg arrested in August 1950. Photograph dated Aug. 8, 1950. American civilians executed for espionage. Spies, communists, Julius Rosenberg

Spies Like Us: 10 Famous Names in the Espionage Game

Shadow of a man holding large knife in his hand inside of some dark, spooky buiding

7 of History's Most Notorious Serial Killers

Neptune: Related Content

Written and fact-checked by The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

News •

Astronomers spot candidate for potential ninth planet far beyond Neptune • May 2, 2025, 11:42 PM ET (Live Science)

If another planet is out there, this telescope could help find it : Short Wave • Apr. 25, 2025, 10:16 AM ET (NPR)

Photos and Videos

clouds in Neptune's atmosphere

Neptune's Great Dark Spot

Neptune: Great Dark Spot

clouds on Neptune

moons of Neptune: Triton

Neptune's ring system

moons of Uranus: Ariel

Neptune: atmospheric changes

Witness the arrival of Voyager 2 at Neptune after a 12-year journey, August 25, 1989

See All Videos, Images and Interactives →

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Quiz

M101 (NGC 5457, The Pinwheel Galaxy). Hubble Space Telescope image of face-on spiral galaxy Messier 101 (M101). Largest most detailed photo of a spiral galaxy that has ever been released from Hubble. Created from 1994-2003

Everything in Space in a 25-Minute Quiz

This artist's concept illustrates Kepler-16b, the first planet known to definitively orbit two stars -- what's called a circumbinary planet. The planet, which can be seen in the foreground, was discovered by NASA's Kepler mission. The two orbiting stars r

Extrasolar Planets

1 July 2002: The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) satellite reveals a massive solar eruption more than 30 times the Earth's diameter. The eruption formed when a loop of a magnetic field over the surface of the Sun trapped hot gas.

Brightest Star in the Solar System

Saturn. Saturn and its rings. Second largest planet of the solar system. Space Art

Planets and the Earth’s Moon

Nicolaus Copernicus. Nicolas Copernicus (1473-1543) Polish astronomer. In 1543 he published, forward proof of a Heliocentric (sun centered) universe. Coloured stipple engraving published London 1802. De revolutionibus orbium coelestium libri vi.

All About Astronomy

The orbits of the planets and other elements of the solar system, including asteroids, Kuiper belt, Oort cloud, comet

Space Odyssey

View of the Andromeda Galaxy (Messier 31, M31).

Astronomy and Space Quiz

Buzz Aldrin. Apollo 11. Apollo 11 astronaut Edwin Aldrin, photographed July 20, 1969, during the first manned mission to the Moon's surface. Reflected in Aldrin's faceplate is the Lunar Module and astronaut Neil Armstrong, who took the picture.

Can You Match The Moon To Its Planet? Quiz

Demystified

Remarkable new details of Pluto's largest moon Charon are revealed in this image from New Horizons' Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI), taken late on July 13, 2015 from a distance of 289,000 miles

Why Is Pluto No Longer a Planet?