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Space
Station Info :: Nine Planet Solar System ::
History of Neptune :: The Appearance of Neptune
The Appearance of Neptune
Neptune is never observable with the naked eye. With the use of a telescope it appears as a blue-green disk, similar in appearance to Uranus; the blue-green color comes from the methane in its atmosphere.
The brightness of Neptune ranges from the magnitudes +7.7 and +8.0, so a telescope or binoculars are required to observe it. It can be also photographed as a faint star with a normal camera and high-sensitivity film.
With an orbital period of 165 years, Neptune will soon return to the approximate position where Galle discovered it, on three different dates. These are April 11, 2009, when it will be in direct motion; July 17, 2009, when it will be in retrograde motion; and finally for the last time for the next 165 years, on February 7, 2010.
Appearance
| Stationary, retrograde |
Opposition |
Distance
to Earth (AU) |
MaximumBrightness
(mag) |
Diameter |
Stationary, prograde |
Conjunction to Sun |
| May 17, 2004 |
August 6, 2004 |
29.05513 |
7.8 |
2.31" |
October 24, 2004 |
February 2, 2004 |
| May 20, 2005 |
August 8, 2005 |
29.04701 |
7.8 |
2.31" |
October 26, 2005 |
February 3, 2005 |
| May 22, 2006 |
August 11, 2006 |
29.03948 |
7.8 |
2.31" |
October 29, 2006 |
February 6, 2006 |
| May 25, 2007 |
August 13, 2007 |
29.03193 |
7.8 |
2.31" |
October 31, 2007 |
February 8, 2007 |
| May 26, 2008 |
August 15, 2008 |
29.02412 |
7.8 |
2.31" |
November 2, 2008 |
February 11, 2008 |
| May 29, 2009 |
August 17, 2009 |
29.01536 |
7.8 |
2.31" |
November 4, 2009 |
February 12, 2009 |
| June 1, 2010 |
August 20, 2010 |
29.00558 |
7.8 |
2.31" |
November 7, 2010 |
February 14, 2010 |
| June 3, 2011 |
August 22, 2011 |
28.99475 |
7.8 |
2.31" |
November 9, 2011 |
February 17, 2011 |
| June 5, 2012 |
August 24, 2012 |
28.98352 |
7.8 |
2.31" |
November 11, 2012 |
February 19, 2012 |
| June 7, 2013 |
August 27, 2013 |
28.97248 |
7.8 |
2.31" |
November 13, 2013 |
February 21, 2013 |
| June 10, 2014 |
August 29, 2014 |
28.96213 |
7.8 |
2.31" |
November 16, 2014 |
February 23, 2014 |
| June 12, 2015 |
September 1, 2015 |
28.95303 |
7.8 |
2.31" |
November 18, 2015 |
February 26, 2015 |
| June 14, 2016 |
September 2, 2016 |
28.94509 |
7.8 |
2.31" |
November 20, 2016 |
February 28, 2016 |
| June 16, 2017 |
September 5, 2017 |
28.93843 |
7.8 |
2.32" |
November 22, 2017 |
March 2, 2017 |
| June 19, 2018 |
September 7, 2018 |
28.93252 |
7.8 |
2.32" |
November 25, 2018 |
March 4, 2018 |
| June 22, 2019 |
September 10, 2019 |
28.92724 |
7.8 |
2.32" |
November 27, 2019 |
March 7, 2019 |
| June 23, 2020 |
September 11, 2020 |
28.92194 |
7.8 |
2.32" |
November 29, 2020 |
March 8, 2020 |
See about:
vHistory of Neptune
vPhysical Characteristics of Neptune
vDiscovery Of Neptune
vVisibility From Earth And Appearance
vNeptune's Rings
vThe Moons And Trojan Asteroids Of Neptune
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