 |
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| THE EXPLORATION OF NEPTUNE |
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| Neptune was first observed by a German astronomer, Johann
Gottfried Galle on 23 September 1846, however the credit for its discovery
goes to John Couch Adams (Cambridge, England) and Urbain John Joseph LeVerrier
(France); two mathematicians who independently predicted the existence
of an 8th planet in the early 1800s. |
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| In the final phase of its mission to explore to the edge
of the solar system, Voyager 2 flew by Neptune on 24 August 1989, almost
exactly 12 years after it was launched. Voyager 2 returned a mass of valuable
data about Neptune and its ring system. Voyager pictures showed Neptune
to have a mass of fast moving clouds and a huge feature, called the Great
Dark Spot, in its southern hemisphere. |
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| Voyager also discovered six new minor moons and flew close
enough to Triton, Neptunes large moon, to capture pictures of its intriguing
surface. These pictures showed geysers erupting violently in the southern
region resulting in dark plume-shaped surface deposits. |
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| Spacecraft |
Launch date |
Arrival date |
Mission |
| Voyager 2 |
20 Aug 1977 |
24 Aug 1989 |
Neptune/Triton flyby |
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