About this expedition
What is it like to fly inside Neptune’s storms?
Fly through Neptune’s storm layer in an imagined probe, with a real NASA 3D model of Voyager 2 in formation. White methane cirrus streams across a deep-blue cloud deck, and a dark vortex inspired by the Great Dark Spot turns on the horizon — five discoveries in the windiest atmosphere in the Solar System.
Neptune is the most distant planet, about 4.5 billion km from the Sun, where sunlight is roughly 900 times dimmer than on Earth. Even so, its winds are the fastest measured on any planet — up to about 2,000 km/h. When Voyager 2 flew past in August 1989 it photographed the Great Dark Spot, a storm about as wide as Earth; by 1994 the Hubble Space Telescope showed it had vanished. Neptune’s largest moon, Triton, orbits backwards and was probably captured from the Kuiper Belt.
Quick facts
- Gravity
- 11.15 m/s² — a little more than Earth’s
- Distance from the Sun
- About 4.5 billion km (30 AU)
- Fastest winds
- Up to about 2,000 km/h
- Length of a year
- About 165 Earth years (163.7 tropical years)
- Cloud-top temperature
- About −200 °C
- Visited by
- Voyager 2, August 1989
Five discoveries to find
- The storm vista — cirrus lanes streaming toward the dark vortex.
- A cirrus wisp — a methane ice crystal in the specimen viewer.
- The storm wall — the edge of a storm wider than Earth.
- The wind shear line — where Neptune’s winds reverse direction.
- The storm spinner — a marker that shows how the vortex turns.
How to explore
Press Begin the flight. The probe cruises forward on its own; W A S D drift sideways, Space rises and C sinks toward the cloud deck. Drag to look around; on phones and tablets a touch pad appears. Press G to compare the local gravity with Earth’s, P for photo mode, and E to record a discovery in your journal — progress is saved on your own device.
Science and artistic reconstruction
Wind speeds, the Great Dark Spot and Triton are based on Voyager 2 and Hubble observations; Voyager 2 is a real NASA 3D model. The cloud deck, winds and vortex are artistic reconstructions — the flight is far gentler than real Neptunian weather.
Keep exploring
关于本次探索
飞入海王星风暴是什么感觉？
以虚构探测器的身份飞过海王星的风暴层，旅行者 2 号的真实 NASA 三维模型在编队中伴飞。白色的甲烷卷云掠过深蓝色的云层，一个受大黑斑启发的暗色涡旋在地平线上缓缓转动——这是太阳系风力最强的大气中的五个发现。
海王星是最遥远的行星，距太阳约 45 亿公里，那里的阳光比地球上暗约 900 倍。即便如此，它的风速仍是已测得的行星中最快的，可达约每小时 2,000 公里。1989 年 8 月旅行者 2 号飞掠时拍下了大黑斑——一场与地球宽度相近的风暴；到 1994 年哈勃太空望远镜显示它已消失。海王星最大的卫星海卫一公转方向与行星自转相反，很可能是从柯伊伯带被俘获而来的。
快速数据
- 引力
- 11.15 m/s²，略高于地球
- 与太阳的距离
- 约 45 亿公里（30 AU）
- 最快风速
- 可达约每小时 2,000 公里
- 公转周期
- 约 165 个地球年（NASA 概况表为 163.7 个回归年）
- 云顶温度
- 约 −200 °C
- 造访者
- 旅行者 2 号，1989 年 8 月
五个发现
- 风暴远眺 — 卷云车道流向暗色涡旋。
- 卷云晶体 — 标本查看器中的甲烷冰晶。
- 风暴之墙 — 比地球还宽的风暴边缘。
- 风切变线 — 海王星的风向在这里反转。
- 涡旋转盘 — 标记盘演示涡旋如何转动。
如何探索
点击“开始飞行”。探测器会自行向前；W A S D 横向漂移，空格上升，C 下沉至云层甲板。拖动鼠标环顾四周。
科学与艺术重建
风速、大黑斑和海卫一基于旅行者 2 号与哈勃望远镜的观测；旅行者 2 号是真实 NASA 三维模型。云层、风和涡旋是艺术重建——这次飞行远比真实的海王星天气温和。