Neptune is a mysterious world
Voyager 2 image of Neptun’s atmosphere. Image credit: NASA
Here on Earth, our weather is a direct result of our planet absorbing solar radiation. Heat from the sun’s sun fuels the energy produced in large storms, but since Neptune is 2.7 billion miles (4.3 billion kilometers) from the sun, how does it manage to generate winds of such magnitude? Interestingly, before the Voyager 2 flyby of Neptune, scientists had assumed that Neptune’s atmosphere would be barren due to the lack of solar radiation. Furthermore, Uranus’ atmosphere was largely featureless, and it orbits the sun nearly a billion miles (1.5 billion kilometers) closer than Neptune. When Voyager 2 collected data on Neptune’s temperature, astronomers were surprised to find that Neptune’s temperatures are not that different from Uranus. Exactly why Neptune is so hot is still a mystery, especially considering the fact that we haven’t returned to Neptune since the Voyager 2 flyby in 1989. Most of what we know about Neptune came from that flyby. Both Jupiter and Saturn have been visited by Voyager flybys, and the amount of information we’ve gained during successive missions really shows how little data you can collect during one flyby. The amount we know about Uranus and Neptune is roughly equivalent to what we knew about Jupiter and Saturn 40 years ago. Even in our own solar system, there is still much we don’t know about the outer planets. In Neptune’s case, the reason behind the high internal temperatures and fast winds is a mystery. It is possible that Neptune’s interior allows much greater heat transfer to the surface, which causes convection currents that circulate the air and temperature. Heat rising from the interior would fuel Neptune’s storm systems and create its supersonic winds. Until we return, we may never know the real reason for Neptune’s storms. Aidan Remple August 1, 2022 in Science
