Strange Neptune Additional Information
Information about Neptune can be found at www.solstation.com/stars/neptune.htm (Sol Company) and www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/neptune/neptune.html (University Corporation for Atmospheric Research).
To see Voyager 2 images of Neptune, go to voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/image/neptune.html(NASA).
For additional information about the discovery of new moons orbiting Neptune, see cfa-www.harvard.edu/press/pr0303.html (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics).
You can learn more about storms on Neptune at hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/1998/34/text/ (Space Telescope Science Institute).
Ramsayer, Kate. 2005. Chaos among the planets. Science News for Kids (June 1). Available at http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/2005/05/chaos-among-the-planets-2/.
Sohn, Emily. 2004. Icy orbs at the solar system’s edge. Science News for Kids (Dec. 1). Available at http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/2004/11/icy-orbs-at-the-solar-systems-edge-2/.
______. 2004. Planet Hunters Nab Three More. Science News for Kids (Sept. 8). Available at http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/2004/09/planet-hunters-nab-three-more-2/.
______. 2004. Planets on the edge. Science News for Kids (April 7). Available at http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/2004/04/planets-on-the-edge-2/.
Books recommended by SearchIt!Science:
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Neptune: Voyager’s Final Target — Franklyn M. Branley
Published by HarperCollins, 1992.
Since it was discovered in 1846, Neptune has been a mystery planet. Because it is so far away, scientists weren’t able to get much information about it by looking through telescopes on Earth. Part of the mystery was unraveled on August 24, 1989. After a journey of 4 trillion miles, the spaceship Voyager 2 reached Neptune. Once there, it sent back new information about the planet. For example, Neptune has winds that rage at 1,000 miles per hour. Hurricanes and storms swirl about its surface, and one of these storms is as big as Earth. Voyager 2 also revealed the presence of rings around the planet and discovered six previously unknown moons. Color photographs take you to this stormy planet, so that you can experience these discoveries for yourself. A chart compares Earth and Neptune and provides information about Neptune’s moons. |
![[book]](https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/a1348_b2931.jpg) |
Uranus And Neptune — Ron Miller
Published by Twenty-First Century Books/Millbrook Press, 2003.
Explore Uranus and Neptune, two of “the most mysterious worlds in the solar system,” in this hauntingly illustrated book. Learn how the two planets were discovered, how astronomers have investigated them throughout history, and what space scientists are learning about them today. The unusual moons and rings of Neptune and Uranus, the Voyager 2 discoveries, and Neptune’s dramatic storms are discussed. Colorful illustrations and NASA photos depict the planets’ surfaces and their cratered moons, while clear diagrams help explain the text. |
![[book]](https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/a1348_b3495.jpg) |
Ten Worlds: Everything That Orbits the Sun — Ken Croswell
Published by Boyds Mills Press, 2006.
This tour of the solar system features the newly discovered tenth planet (yet was published just before Pluto was demoted). The canyons of Mars . . . the volcanoes of Jupiter’s moon Io . . . the amazing rings of Saturn . . . the icy plains of Pluto—these are just some of the places readers will visit when they tour the Sun’s planets. Astronomer Ken Croswell is the reader’s guide to these fantastic places. |
Power Words
Kuiper belt A region in the outer solar system that contains thousands of small, icy objects.
Neptune The planet that is eighth in distance from the Sun. Neptune is the fourth largest planet in the Solar System. It has long, powerful storms.
orbit 1. The path of an object as it circles around another object in outer space. The Earth makes an orbit around the Sun. 2. The path of an electron around the nucleus of an atom. 3. To move in a path around another object. Satellites orbit the Earth. Electrons orbit the nucleus of an atom.
Copyright © 2002, 2003 Houghton-Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Used with permission.