Neptune's exterior
Neptune, the eighth planet from the sun, is a blue-green gas giant with a number of satellites. Since its discovery in 1846, information has been gathered on it within the field of planetary geology, and new discoveries are being made about it today.
Size
Neptune is 30,775 miles across and is 17.22 times larger than Earth.
Atmosphere and Mantle
Neptune's atmosphere is made of helium, hydrogen and methane gas. Its mantle (10 to 15 times larger than Earth's mantle) is made of water, methane ices and ammonia. Neptune's atmosphere and mantle blend into each other.
As with Jupiter, Neptune has storm spots in its surface.
Core
Neptune's core is 1.2 times larger than the earth's diameter, and is made of nickel, silicates and iron.
Rings
Neptune's ring system includes three rings formed of dust and rocks, and are (in order of extending away from the planet) Galle, Le Verrier, Lassell, Arago, Galatea and Adams.
Moons
Neptune has 13 moons made of rock and ice. The names of the moons are, in order extending away from Neptune: Naiad, Thalassa, Despina, Galatea, Larissa, Proteus, Triton, Nereid, Halimede, Sao, Laomedeia, Psamathe and Neso.
Naiad, Thalassa, Despina and Galatea orbit inside Neptune's rings.
Considerations
Neptune receives less heat from the sun than Uranus, the seventh planet from the sun, but generates approximately the same amount of heat. This indicates a central heat source.
Tags: larger than, times larger, times larger than, away from, Despina Galatea, extending away
