Neptune is barely visible with binoculars but a large telescope is required to see anything other than a very small dot. Through the telescope, it appears as a small greenish disk.
Like the other gas giants, Neptune has rings, four. It also has thirteen known satellites, seven with names and five, yet to be named: Naiad, Thalassa, Despina, Galatea, Larissa, Proteus, Triton, & Nereid.
This image of Neptune's blue-green atmosphere is shown in greater detail than ever before by the Voyager 2 spacecraft as it rapidly approaches its encounter with the giant planet. This color image, produced from a distance of about 16 million kilometers, shows several complex and puzzling atmospheric features. The Great Dark Spot (GDS) seen at the center is about 13,000 km by 6,600 km in size -- as large along its longer dimension as the Earth. The bright, wispy "cirrus-type" clouds seen hovering in the vicinity of the GDS are higher in altitude than the dark material of unknown origin which defines its boundaries.
Finally, we see the newly demoted Pluto and two smaller bodies.
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Also, check out our Full Detail Solar System Tour
