Neptune is the eighth and farthest known planet from the Sun in our solar system. It’s an ice giant, similar in size and composition to Uranus, with a striking deep blue color caused by methane in its atmosphere, along with unknown components that give it a richer hue. Despite being so distant—about 4.5 billion kilometers (2.8 billion miles) from the Sun—Neptune is a dynamic planet with powerful winds, some of the fastest recorded in the solar system, reaching speeds up to 2,100 kilometers per hour (1,300 miles per hour).

Neptune’s atmosphere is mostly hydrogen, helium, and methane, and it features large storms and swirling clouds. One of the most famous storms observed was the Great Dark Spot, similar in size to Earth, which was spotted by the Voyager 2 spacecraft during its flyby in 1989. Neptune has a faint ring system made up of dark, narrow rings, and it has 14 known moons. Its largest moon, Triton, is especially interesting because it orbits Neptune backward (a retrograde orbit) and shows signs of geological activity, including geysers that spew nitrogen gas.

Voyager 2 remains the only spacecraft to have visited Neptune, providing invaluable data that continue to shape our understanding of this distant world. Neptune’s remote location and extreme conditions make it a challenging planet to study, but its powerful storms, mysterious rings, and intriguing moons keep it at the forefront of planetary science and exploration. Neptune reminds us just how diverse and fascinating the worlds in our solar system can be, even at its outer edges.