Just like Jupiter and Saturn, Neptune has bands of storms that circle the planet. While the wind speeds on Jupiter can reach 550 km/hour twice the speed of powerful hurricanes on Earth, that nothing compared to Neptune. Astronomers have clocked winds on Neptune traveling at 2,100 km/hour.
So why can the winds on Neptune reach such huge speeds? Astronomers think that the cold temperatures on Neptune might have something to do with that after all. Polo Ralph Lauren The cold temperatures might decrease the friction in the system, so that winds can get going fast on Neptune.
During its 1989 flyby, NASA Voyager 2 spacecraft discovered the Great Dark Spot on Neptune. Similar to Jupiter Great Red Spot, this is an anti cyclonic storm measuring 13,000 km x 6,600 km across. A few years later, however, the Hubble Space Telescope failed to see the Great Dark Spot, but it did see different storms. This might mean that storms on Neptune don last as long as they do on Jupiter or even Saturn.
The more active weather on Neptune might be due, in part, to its higher internal heat. Although Neptune is much more distant than Uranus from the Sun, receiving 40% less sunlight, temperatures on the surface of the two planets are roughly similar. In fact, Neptune radiates 2.61 times as much energy as it receives from the Sun. This is enough heat to help drive the fastest winds in the Solar System.
We have written many articles about Neptune for Universe Today. Here an article about how Neptune south pole is the warmest part of the planet, and here more information about the atmosphere on Neptune.
If you like more information on Neptune, take a look at Hubblesite News Releases about Neptune, and here a link to NASA Solar System Exploration Guide to Neptune.
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