This is an image of Neptune.
Click on image for full size
NASA
A Look at the History of Neptune's Atmosphere
The giant planets have definitely changed since their
formation. But how much remains to be seen.
Most of the original air of the giant planets remains in place. (The earth-like planets lost most of their atmospheres very soon after they formed because the atmosphere drifted away).
Unlike Jupiter or Saturn, which are made of simple molecules, Neptune is made mostly of icy material and complex molecules. The reason for this is because the cloud from which the planets formed told what kind of material was to form near Neptune.
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Neptune's atmosphere shows a striped pattern of clouds, just like that of Jupiter and Saturn. Neptune even has a Great Dark Spot similar to the Great Red Spot of Jupiter. The history of Neptune's atmosphere
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This image shows the new Great Dark Spot of Neptune, which was discovered using the Hubble Space Telescope. The image shown here, shows a large "hole" in the clouds of Neptune in pink, in the northern
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The giant planets have definitely changed since their formation. But how much remains to be seen. Most of the original air of the giant planets remains in place. (The earth-like planets lost most of their
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This image shows some clouds known as "cirrus" clouds, extending for many kilometers across the face of Neptune. These clouds are very high up, for they can be seen to cast shadows on the lower clouds,
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This image of Neptune uses false colors to show where the smog is. The smog of Neptune can be seen in red along the edge of the image. This smog haze is found very high up in the atmosphere, over the clouds
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Scientists think that the solar system formed out of a spinning cloud of hydrogen and helium molecules. Because the cloud was spinning, it flattened into a frisbee shape, just like a ball of pizza dough
...more Neptune was discovered in 1846. But it wasn't discovered using a telescope. Scientists used math instead! They watched Uranus and saw that its orbit was doing weird things. They knew another planet had
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