The opposition event on Sept. 9, 2019, coincided with the 30th anniversary of Voyager 2’s flyby of Neptune in 1989. Voyager 2 remains the only spacecraft to have visited Neptune, providing researchers with valuable data during its close encounter with the planet. The spacecraft passed just 3,000 miles above Neptune’s north pole, discovering six previously unknown moons and confirming the existence of faint planetary rings.
Images captured by Voyager 2 revealed fascinating details about Neptune’s weather patterns, including a dark and violent vortex reminiscent of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot. Since Voyager 2’s visit, observatories like the Hubble Space Telescope and James Webb Space Telescope have provided further insights into the distant planet.
NASA scientists have learned that Neptune experiences seasonal changes similar to Earth, but on a much longer timescale spanning decades. By closely studying these seasonal variations, researchers hope to gain a deeper understanding of planetary atmospheres across the solar system, shedding light on both the similarities and differences between Earth and its distant neighbors.