Congratulations – you’ve found:
Neptune
Neptune is like the mysterious, deep blue ocean of our solar system! It’s the eighth planet from the Sun, which means it’s really far away. Neptune is a very special planet because it’s the farthest one that we know about. It’s also a very windy and stormy place, with lots of interesting things to discover!
Fun Facts:
- Farthest from the Sun: Neptune is the farthest planet from the Sun in our solar system. It’s so far that it takes sunlight about four hours to reach Neptune!
- Named After a Sea God: Neptune is named after the ancient Roman god of the sea. He was a very powerful god, and people believed he could control the oceans.
- Giant Storms: Neptune is known for its big, swirling storms. The winds on Neptune are super strong, and some of the storms can be even bigger than Earth!
- Pretty Blue Colour: Neptune is a beautiful blue colour, just like the deep sea. This colour comes from the gases in its atmosphere.
- Moons and Rings: Neptune has lots of moons, just like some of the other big planets. It also has rings, although they’re not as big or bright as Saturn’s rings.
- Slow Spinner: Neptune takes a really long time to spin all the way around. One day on Neptune is about 16 hours, which is a bit shorter than a day on Earth.
- Icy and Cold: Neptune is extremely cold because it’s so far from the Sun. It’s one of the coldest places in our solar system!
- Discovery with Math: Neptune was actually discovered using math! Scientists noticed that the way Uranus moved didn’t match what they expected, so they used math to figure out that there must be another planet out there – and that’s how they found Neptune!
- Visited by Voyager 2: In 1989, a spacecraft called Voyager 2 flew by Neptune and sent back lots of pictures and information about this mysterious planet.
- Unique Orbit: Neptune has a really special orbit. It goes around the Sun in a big circle, but it’s tilted on its side, which makes its orbit look more like a squished oval.
Neptune is a fascinating planet, and even though it’s very far away, scientists are always trying to learn more about it. It’s like the mysterious ocean of our solar system!
Can you explore Dundee and find all 8 planets in our Solar System?
The distance between each planet represents the scale of the planets in our Solar System – and their distance from the Sun!
Remember to take a picture of any Solar System Trail sign and tag us to be entered into our weekly draw for Dundee Science Centre tickets!
You can find us on Facebook or Instagram – @dundeesciencecentre. You can also use the hashtag #dundeesciencecentregiveaway
If you need a hint please see a map of the locations below, or you can download a high-resolution printable trail HERE.
How many will you find?
