Neptune at Night
Explanation:
Ice giant Neptune
is faint in Earth's night sky.
Some 30 times farther from the Sun than our fair planet,
telescopes are needed to
catch
a glimpse
of the dim and distant world.
This dramatic view of
Neptune's night
just isn't possible for telescopes in the vicinity of planet Earth
though.
Peering out from the inner Solar System they can only bring
Neptune's
day side into view.
In fact this night side image with Neptune's slender crescent next to
the crescent of its large moon Triton was captured by Voyager 2.
Launched from planet Earth in 1977 the
Voyager 2 spacecraft
made a close fly by of the Solar System's outermost planet in 1989,
looking back on Neptune as the robotic spacecraft continued its
voyage
to interstellar space.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
