Opposite Hemispheres of Neptune
Depicts: Neptune
Copyright: Lawrence A. Sromovsky (University of Wisconsin-Madison) and NASA
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These views of Neptune, as seen through the Hubble Space Telescope,
are helping planetary scientists gain some insight into the weird and
wild weather that is a hallmark of the eighth planet from the sun. On
Neptune, winds blow at 900 miles per hour and huge storms -- some the
size of Earth itself -- come and go with regularity. How, precisely,
Neptune's weather is driven is a mystery since the sun, which drives
the Earth's weather, is 900 times dimmer there than on Earth. The
bottom images show Neptune's Hubble portrait circa 1996. The top
images were taken this year and help illustrate the dynamic weather
features that dominate the planet.
Last Update: 1 September 2019