Just For Laughs: 2008

My name is Kristopher J.T. Saunders. I am not shy which is good because I went to 5 different elementary schools. My hobbies are soccer, guitar, and scouts. I also really love music and theatre. My goal is to become an and to become an Olympic soccer player. To achieve my Olympic goals I have to keep practicing.I am 11 yaers old my brothers name is Garette.

here's a progect Iam really fond of.
NEPTUNE
Details

Neptune is the 8th furthest planet from the sun. It is about 3 billion miles (5 billion kilometers) from the sun. The fastest rocket ever created on earth would take several years to get to Neptune. A year on Neptune is 165 earth years. A day is 16 hours and 7 minutes. It is the fourth-largest planet in our solar system with a diameter of 30,776 miles (49, 528 kilometers). It is big enough to hold with 60 planets the size of Earth and that is why Neptune is known as a gas giant.

The core is very hot (about 5,500C). It is made up of mostly melted rock and metal. Next to the core there is a thick layer of liquid, which is about 4,700C. The atmosphere is composed of methane, helium and hydrogen, which have a temperature, that goes as low as minus 270C. Neptune’s atmosphere is blue because when light goes through methane it turns blue.

On Neptune there are winds as fast as 1,200 miles an hour. It’s strange to have winds this fast with such a low temperature. Scientists think the heat of the liquid layer of the planet causes the strong winds. On gas giants, storms can last weeks or centuries.

In 1989 the Hubble telescope sent back pictures that showed a “great dark spot” on the surface of Neptune. Scientists think it was caused by a huge storm like a hurricane. They think the storm made a big hole in the atmosphere and that the spot was actually a view through to the surface of the planet. On the pictures sent back from the Hubble in 1994, the spot was no longer visible.

Discovery and Exploration

In 1612, Galileo spotted Neptune with his telescope, but he thought it was a star. The discovery of Neptune actually began with the discovery of Uranus! After discovering Uranus astronomers and mathematicians didn’t understand why Uranus’ orbit was not what they expected.

Neptune was discovered because of the unusual motion of Uranus. Scientists thought that the motion was caused by the pull of another planet. In 1846, two astronomers named Gottfrend and D’arrest found the other planet

At first they wanted to name the planet Leverrier after a scientist that helped discover it, they finally decided on Neptune. All the other planets were named after Greek gods. Neptune is an ancient god of the sea. The blue on Neptune reminded the scientists of earth’s oceans.2

Since it was discovered in 1846, most of the exploration had been by telescope. The voyager 2 passed Neptune in 1989. It sent back lots of pictures of Neptune and its moons. Voyager 2 found 6 of the moons that orbit the planet.

Neptune is invisible without a telescope. The planet is way too far away for us to see. Uranus is also too far away for us to see. But you can see the other planets Mercury, Venus; you can definitely see Earth, Mars, and Jupiter.

Moons and Rings
Moons

Neptune has13 moons. 5 of Neptune’s Moons have irregular shapes. Scientists believe that a comet hit a big moon and that moon shattered and the pieces then orbited Neptune. They are so small that their gravity is not powerful enough to make them spherical. One is only 25 miles wide. Almost every moon and planet in the solar system, including 12 of Neptune’s moons, travel counter-clockwise. An exception would be Triton, which orbits Neptune clockwise.

Triton is the largest of Neptune’s moons, and the most interesting. It is about ¾ of the size of earth’s moon. Scientists believe that Triton was not always in Neptune’s orbit, but it was pulled to Neptune by strong gravity. Triton is an unusual moon. Scientists believe it may be the coldest place in the solar system. It can be as cold as –235 degrees Celsius. It has volcanoes made of ice (yes, ICE!) that throw a mixture of gas and dust into the air and it is so cold on Triton that it freezes instantly and falls as snow.

Nereid is another of Neptune’s moons. It is not really that remarkable, except that it is small and very far away (over 3 million miles) from Neptune. It could also have been pulled to Neptune by gravity. Another of Neptune’s moons has the name Despina, after Neptune’s daughter.

Rings

Neptune has 6 rings, which are all, but one, named after scientists who did research on Neptune. The scientist’s names are Galle, Le Verrier, Lassell, Arago, and Adams. One ring remains unnamed. There are three main rings, which are very thin and dark. The rings are made up of small rocks and dust. Neptune's rings are not the same thickness all around. There are areas of the rings, which are much thicker than other areas of the rings. These thicker parts are called ring arcs. Some of these ring arcs are also twisted, so they look like rope. Because Neptune’s rings are so dark and faint, they were not discovered until the 1980s when Voyager 2 photographed them.

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