Why Is Neptune So Blue? And 3 Other Mysteries an Orbiter Could Solve

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Neptune's radius is almost four times larger than Earth's, its surface has super intense storms, and we barely know anything else about it. It is time to send another orbiter out there.
Host: Caitlin Hofmeister
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Sources:
hubblesite.org/news/69-neptune
solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/...
www.space.com/33516-biggest-m...
nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary...
nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary...
coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/as...
www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/...
www.nytimes.com/2014/08/19/sc...
www.nasa.gov/sites/default/fi...
www.sciencemag.org/news/2004/0...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1...
iopscience.iop.org/article/10....
www.nationalgeographic.com/sc...
coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/as...
adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1974Ap...
www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-...
www.nature.com/articles/s4155...
Images:
solarsystem.nasa.gov/resource...
solarsystem.nasa.gov/resource...
images.nasa.gov/details-PIA00...
svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4145
images.nasa.gov/details-PIA00...
images.nasa.gov/details-PIA01...
images.nasa.gov/details-PIA01...
images.nasa.gov/details-PIA01...
images.nasa.gov/details-PIA01...
www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/...
solarsystem.nasa.gov/resource...
www.istockphoto.com/vector/lo...
www.istockphoto.com/vector/la...
www.istockphoto.com/vector/sp...

[@scishowspace]

Start protecting yourself on the web at NordVPN.com/SCISHOW or use code SCISHOW and save 77%!

[@nintenster]

Start protecting Uranus on the internet with nord vpn

[@alanlee1355]

@@nintenster that sounds quite dirty. 😉

[@ayarel01]

Nice segue!

[@vlogenericsrants948]

0:52 We need to send a probe to Uranus, and a probe to Neptune. Both Ice Giants have many mysteries that NEED to be solved. I've heard the European Space Agency has possible plans for probes to Uranus and Neptune, but they're decades away.

[@wheelmangames5366]

SciShow Space its too bad. I had already signed up with PIA for 3 years to specifically harass NASA.

[@DankMatter]

It's so far away from the Sun, it just became sad over time

[@christelheadington1136]

Dank Matter-That's what I thought when I saw the thumbnail.

[@General12th]

Just like me. :(

[@chocolateex1907]

I want to give Neptune a hug!

[@chocolateex1907]

To cheer it up.

[@chocolateex1907]

RAIDER DEV no just a hug from the big blue planet

[@TheExoplanetsChannel]

Let's send an orbiter to Neptune !

[@ElectricPyroclast]

Mine is already there, actually. I just participated in the Index against Nef Anyo's brokers and took away from them about 2 million credits. (I play too much Warframe, send help)

[@christelheadington1136]

The Exoplanets Channel-But first a word from our sponsor........

[@alanlee1355]

Yes! Let's go...C'MON.

[@JohnJohansen2]

I might have some spare parts in my barn.

[@ananteolas]

John Johansen SU reference?

[@Tautolonaut]

"Admiring blurry images from a distance", ah yes I remember the 90s internet fondly...

[@crackedemerald4930]

Hah... She said Neptune...

[@SophiaAstatine]

Shockwave Shockwave O M G you're So! Childiiissshh!

[@cordlefhrichter1520]

She's gotta real nice Neptune LOL!

[@wc0424]

Umm, it’s actually pronounced NEPtune. No need for childish comments, friend.

[@covfefe2242]

She said your anus. 😂

[@lightufo9354]

Don't get the joke (I'm not native English), someone explain pls? :D

[@jeffreybernath6627]

At 0:24 Neptune is almost 4 larger than Earth? What? I guess you mean that Neptune is almost 4 Earths across its diameter, which is technically true. But by volume, which was what I personally thought of when you said "larger," Neptune is over 57 times larger than Earth. I mean, over 50 Earths would fit inside Neptune, that is way more than "almost 4 times larger."

[@scishowspace]

Thanks for the comment! Based on the sources we referenced while working on this script, we intentionally chose to reference radius instead of volume when talking about Neptune’s size - but you’re right about the volume!

[@gravyboat2370]

@@scishowspace not the best reference for comparison then!

[@geekinutopia5899]

Neptune is quadruple Earth's diameter, 49,200km average for Neptune, 12,740km average for Earth.

[@BerryTheBnnuy]

Neptune's diameter is 3.86 times the diameter of Earth, based on Neptune's average diameter divided by Earth's average. What I don't get is how that equals 57 times the volume of Earth. A Sphere with a diameter of 3.86 has a volume of 30.1135. So shouldn't Neptune's volume be just over 30 times that of Earth?

[@tinfoilhomer909]

Turns out it wasn't so blue after all

[@blackphantom9293]

The fact that she could say "That honor goes to Uranus..." with a straight is amazing

[@treahblade]

Neptune has always been my favorite planet in the solar system. Its so far and mysterious.

[@feynstein1004]

Uh why do I need a VPN to email NASA? Are they tracking me too?

[@dropdead234]

And VPNs can track you even better. ALL HAIL THE INTELLIGENCE ALPHABET SOUP!

[@feynstein1004]

+dropdead234 Lol okay dude

[@erex9875]

dropdead234 what you on about?

[@remanjecarter2787]

I'm gonna shake hands with Neptune ~P. Star

[@jbtownsend9535]

Uranus is constantly emitting noxious gasses, and we don’t know why.

[@zerofox1551]

To stop these jokes they're changing the name from Uranus to Urrectum.

[@samwansitdabet6630]

George

[@RyanKentBarnhart]

Your enthusiasm in these videos is infectious.

[@dwaynefrechette2011]

I ♡ her enthusiasm!!

[@ADEehrh]

Dwayne Frechette Ya, it's tough to find that happy-go lucky attitude specially in the ladies.

[@youhavenoprivacyandownnoth8289]

she has to sell the video and sponsors for money

[@dwaynefrechette2011]

Why cant she just like her job and be enthusiastic about the subject? No need to be cynical, dude.

[@youhavenoprivacyandownnoth8289]

@@dwaynefrechette2011 There's a difference between earning money for yourself and liking a job. who likes slavery? only the inferior that populate most of the planet. Working = I'd rather be a slave to another. Working = I'd rather delude myself man's primary goal is to help others than himself. Working = I'd rather amount to nothing. 'Hard working' people dont deserve to live, let alone be role models of what adults should look like. Such do-gooding, spineless, good-for-nothings should be rightously consumed by their masters or by a meteor.

[@dwaynefrechette2011]

@@youhavenoprivacyandownnoth8289 you are a freak. Go eat yourself.

[@seasong7655]

It's dangerous to go alone. Take a Nep!

[@varnull6120]

Thank you for actually explaining how VPN works. The sales pitch for Nord is usually "It protects you from hacking! It makes the internet safe!" but that's only true in a pretty specific context - if your computer at home gets hacked, it's probably something you clicked or a page you visited. A VPN will not protect you from that. VPNs specifically isolate your communications (from the traditional things like email and chat to things like streaming which still falls under "communication") from being read by actors on the LAN or local network (your router, the cafe wifi, etc) and as it passes through the ISP and the rest of the internet - but it doesn't protect you from the usual way you end up hacked or infected or otherwise up a creek without a paddle. A VPN won't stop you from opening bad attachments or clicking suspicious links and won't prevent the outcome. And if one of those things is on your computer it doesn't matter if your communications are encrypted. They just intercept them before the encryption, straight from the source. I'm really suspicious of Nord in particular because this strikes me as deceitful marketing and it creates a false sense of security. We don't need excuses for people to be less vigilant than they already are - the internet isn't getting any safer. It's a shame too because their marketing campaign as a whole could be a good chance to educate the public, like you've done here.

[@sab1751]

It is soo cool to come to this channel and listen to people who are so excited about scientific subjects. Thanks guys

[@rodefshalom]

"Uranus has even more methane..." I can't... I just can't... X-D (I'm not a 40 year old man... I'm three twelve year old boys in a trench coat.)

[@FharishAhmedPortfolio]

😂😂😂 I AM a 43+ year old man, and I am still laughing at it!!!

[@tristanbaravraham6349]

I LOVED the sponsor tie in at the end. No kidding, that made me laugh. Definitely cool :)

[@MNAZ480]

I'm 47 years old and I still chuckle every time I hear URANUS

[@dondude69]

...(farting sound)...

[@planexshifter]

I'm sorry.

[@Biden_is_demented]

Urectum.

[@exactlyexactly]

Mike Nelson u white af

[@houstonpromotion]

They need to change the name of that planet i will forever laugh at Uranus

[@josephgrant1151]

Thanks for your video. Keep it up!

[@sfomikedean1]

Thanks Caitlin.

[@iluomobravo]

Her enthusiasm is contagious. I hope she teaches children

[@tarkan6729]

Is that Weird Al's twin sister?

[@jwr7138]

Nice job!

[@therealjoshuacaleb4873]

LOL i had to laugh, and i quote... "Like Uranus it gets its color from methane" . I love puns!

[@java101full]

How does hubbel manage to photo extremely distant objects like galaxies, nebulas with so much detail, but everything gets blurry when it takes pictures of such a close object like Neptune?

[@shinigami_akarshan]

Because the galaxy are much bigger compared to close planets

[@DammedMan.]

I always love it when it's my favourite host.

[@normanderna]

great vid!

[@CodyRushDriving]

0:57-1:00 I just spat out my soda laughing. I know I know. I'm like, five.

[@joyl7842]

Come on Neptune Orbiter Mission! I'd get so excited!

[@deviousxen]

Neptune is honestly one of my faves in the Solar Sys.

[@sueken22able]

I was going to ask, why not train the HST on Neptune and solve the mysteries, but you answered it as I verbally asked myself, haha. Plus, I hear telescope time is really expensive and sure there is a long list of astronomers waiting to use it. Thanks for the info Scishow space

[@brewski118sempire]

"neptune furthest planet from the sun." My default thought was: "No, Pluto is."

[@Barnaclebeard]

Wow, those are the best images Hubble can get of Neptune? I'm really surprised! I didn't realize it was so hard to see.

[@seungjunrhee]

Make a video on Uranus!!

[@nickc3657]

4:09 why can Hubble take such incredible photos of faraway galaxies, but Neptune is so blurry?

[@nohbuddy1]

Nick C It's meant to capture things from far away, not close.

[@massimookissed1023]

Could be a light thing too. The outer planets don't emit light, they just reflect the very dim light they get from the sun. So that means a longer exposure... and they rotate, and move more than distant galaxies. (That deep field pic Hubble took was a total of 22 days exposure over a 50 day period, but that bit of sky didn't move.)

[@prion42]

Cuz galaxies are big

[@warecb]

I think they touch up the pictures from Hubble. I dont know if they're clear at all

[@Ian07_]

Galaxies are pretty large compared to how far away they are. According to WolframAlpha, a galaxy with a diameter of 100,000 light-years viewed from 100 million light-years away has an angular size of about 3.4 arcminutes, while Neptune (about 50,000 km across and 30 AU away) has an angular size of 2.3 arcseconds - nearly 100 times smaller.

[@seatbelttruck]

Watching a video talking about methane in Uranus at 1:00 in the morning after I've had a crappy day is bringing out the juvenile humor in me...

[@anubisdeath6253]

0:58 Can we just appreciate how hilarious the first part of that phrase is? And how dead pan she read it off?

[@rainynight02]

That was a nice ad transition. Has TierZoo been giving lessons like I suggested?

[@brian554xx]

Thanks for putting me on blast, Caitlin, for my methane problem...

[@Vicioussama]

hehe... "Uranus might be the coldest in the solar system, but there are ways we can heat it up" :P I can't resist making such jokes at times.

[@jameslovesjesus2033]

Whenever she said "like Uranus it gets its color from the little bit of methane in its atmosphere" something happened to my brain. It's like I didn't really remember anything for about a minute after that and had to rewind it to catch up with what I had missed. What a time to be alive.

[@CodenameMood]

Space is so..Fascinating But I cant help think Neptune is just someone's school life made into a planet, just sad and a lot of tears

[@itzdcx7991]

*Howard The metal Alien heating up Neptune with his DANK Dance*

[@jellyacc]

whatever happened to the guy who sounded like bender?? i miss that guy :'(

[@RedLeader327]

Meowy mcMeowface Reid? He’s still around.

[@NewMessage]

Bad breakup with that hussy moon it's been seeing for the past eon?

[@wemustconquer3510]

New Message I love your profile pic

[@danielhall1226]

Thanks for all these Uranus joke screenshots. 🤣😂🤣😂

[@timlindmark8294]

Nice hand movement

[@SalvatoreEscoti]

We need Orbiters on each single of our 8 Planets and on all of their major Moons

[@CocoaBeachLiving]

We really do need to know much more about our solar system's major objects. Let's push for many more probes!! 😊

[@FreeSoul76]

My favorite planet in the solar system 😍

[@ACivillage]

We are unable to find details for Neptune and still trying for possible earths lightyears away

[@travisnorseman8648]

Could somebody please explain to me how Hubble can take these amazing pictures of galaxies and nebuli, and other stuff millions of light years away but it can only take a blurry photo, worse than an old cellphone, of Neptune???

[@Carebear_Pooh]

Because it only flew past neptune while it was traveling. Like how you shoot a quick photo while of something outside while in the car. You haven’t really setup or checked your gear thoroughly, you just thought it would be neat to have a photo of that one specific thing.

[@-_Nuke_-]

Uranus pants down the best joke ever conceived.

[@spicat16]

Neptune has always been my favorite planet 😍 used to have dreams that alien humpback wales swam in the blue 😊lol

[@RhapsodicXStyle07]

Neptune is my favorite, the flyby happened the year I was born and its my favorite color.

[@Gamefreak924]

Land something onto it to take pictures. It'd be cool to see the atmosphere and ground of another planet. All we've got is Mars and barely Venus. Either that or try to at least crash the orbiter into it to try to take some final pictures up close

[@Rob_Thorsman]

I may have a rocket, a spacecraft, or even an orbiter. I'll have to check my basement.

[@The_CGA]

I've been of the opinion that both Uranus and Neptune could benefit from bare-bones orbiter missions along the lines of ISRO's Mars Orbiter Mission: just camera, magnetometer, and keep it light as far as the science package and the expense. Something is better than nothing...

[@TheWeatherbuff]

I think many people assume we can just see perfect images with our large earth-based telescopes, or Hubble. An orbiter is definitely the answer. I'd like to see one that has weather-specific remote sensors on it, to get accurate wind speeds in those storms.

[@cluckeryduckery261]

Uranus is still my favorite local planet...and no, its not for the resson 12 year old find it funny. It's just really interesting. For example, it't knocked over on its side.

[@jeronimob8333]

Uranus is knocked over on its side? That's really interesting...

[@cluckeryduckery261]

Jero yeah, more or less rotates perpendicular to the orbital plane.

[@cluckeryduckery261]

Jero dine think it was knocked over by a large impact. Others think it captured from a different solar that had a (basically) perpendicular to our own. If you want to get technical, Venus has the largest tilt. It rotates backwards. So Uranus is a (very) roughly 90 drg tilt, you could say Venus has 180 degree tilt.

[@cluckeryduckery261]

Edit: i lfeel like i left out every other word in that statement. Too lazy to fix it.

[@solarhammer6319]

Cluckery Duckery thanx to Uranus!

[@serge00storms]

the protomolecule is the reason for all the blue

[@Ichsukatanuka]

True, Uranus is very, very cold and barren.

[@R-MD]

I love the ad segways

[@gravijta936]

The great dark spot was clearly the result of over cooking Neptune chicken.

[@toffiebear]

Neptune: Underrated planet Pluto be like: hold my beer 🍺

[@Robot_Overlord]

Do a video about mysteries of Uranus

[@tatjanagobold2810]

Can't deal with people pronouncing Uranus wrong anymore

[@stevemoon2136]

Tatjana Gobold Without a doubt, one of the most pressing issues of our time.

[@ashIibabbitt1111]

Especially since both pronunciations are considered correct, I don't see why you have such a problem. How do you pronounce Caribbean?

[@-_Nuke_-]

Here in Greece we don't have that problem, we pronounce Uranus as it should be, and that's hu-ra-nOs With nOs being intonated (and not the hu part). And "ra" pronounced like the Egyptian God Ra. Ουρανός = hu-ra-nOs = Sky A fitting name for the bluest planet in our solar system.

[@ZomBeeNature]

NUKE, thank goodness we don't need to speak Greek! 😉 Whew! That was a close one! 😅

[@-_Nuke_-]

very suspicious!

[@KuronoXD]

I just kept giggling at every "Uranus" phrase. I'm such a child.

[@XZenon]

If only someone had a spare Hubble just laying around... oh, wait.

[@nemesite2]

Neptune holds the key to answering one of the biggest mysteries of the solar system.

[@Fittiboy]

"Like Uranus, something something methane"

[@drfat0101]

NASA. Send Neptune probe. NOW!

[@rurutherussian]

We only visited Neptune _once_ ??? I never knew that.

[@EricLeeStepp]

I wish we had orbiters for every planet just so we could have more beautiful space pictures.

[@scarletletter4900]

If we end up sending a new probe, can we call it Amphitrite?

[@gate7clamp]

We need to send a manned mission like a boss let’s get SLS going

[@cheesecrew]

Billy Ritchie I'll send a manned mission to Uranus

[@General12th]

But the SLS kinda sucks!

[@crackedemerald4930]

This isn't kerbal, if it was, it would go be to Uranus

[@aboodyboi]

*"Like Uranus it gets it's color from the little bit of methanr in it's athmosphere"*

[@raidermaxx2324]

i would have thought pluto would be the coldest

[@JonathanAdami]

The irony: we have detailed composition of exoplanets around suns we can barely see, and we can't check that planet around the neighbourhood :/

[@Lillers24]

Doesn't matter how old I get. I will always giggle like a child when I hear someone mention Uranus.

[@maddie9602]

"If you happen to have a rocket and a functional spacecraft at hand, leave us a comment!" Let's hope Elon Musk is watching.

[@GTRGTX999]

I'd pay for the orbiter if I had the money, she's so enthusiastic

[@mariesdeadforever]

Why is it so hard to find why neptune is blue .

[@vaibhavmishra9771]

one of the best videos mam.

[@jm5390]

I think NASA needs to send two orbiter missions (with probes) to both Uranus and Neptune. They're incredibly understudied compared to the likes of Jupiter or Mars & could give us better information about ice giants around other stars.

[@LandoCalrissiano]

Why are Hubble images of Neptune so blurry when it can take high resolution images of features that occupy a smaller angle in the sky?

[@anarchyantz1564]

Neptune gets a lot of love, its Uranus that tends to be the butt of the jokes though seriously its pretty cool in that it orbits like a giant bullseye compared to the others. Lets face it, our solar system has some pretty interesting sights though, from the crushing melting and backwards spinning Venus all the way out to Neptune with the fastest winds in the solar system.

[@mrnice4434]

Neptune: I want a ring too mum Sun: No you are silly now go to bed Neptune: I will hold my breath until I get a ring *Neptune holds breath and get blue*

[@dziban303]

I've been saying for years we need an orbiter mission to Neptune ♆ and Uranus ⛢

[@travisgartside409]

Aliens. The blue is so we can't see what's cracking. Neptune the alien party planet!

[@Zeldaschampion]

Wow. Uranus is that cold? No wonder there so much hair around it....

[@t.j.payeur739]

I hate stupid people...

[@nathanmcgregor4639]

I don't get it... why is there hair around it???

[@noahstevens3060]

Nathan McGregor to keep the spiders out.

[@samwansitdabet6630]

yes my anus is very cold

[@Junokaii]

I wish KZbin videos didn't have sponsor ads in the videos. It's enough we got KZbin ads why both? Cause even with "KZbin Premium" we'd be stuck with ads in the video.

[@chuckchildress9295]

What kind of resolution will the James Webb telescope be able to get of the other planets? I know it isn’t looking for visible light like Hubble, but I’m sure it would still be magnitudes better at giving insights into our closest neighbors

[@anullhandle]

Charles Childress , it has a larger mirror but sees in longer wavelengths so about the same resolution. The gold mirror does better in infrared. Infrared is better at traveling through cosmic dust. It's really designed to see further back in time. You can make a huge (heavy so not good for getting it into space) mirror with good resolution but you're stuck looking thru our turbulent atmosphere. So you put them on mountain tops.

[@Scott89878]

I want missions to Uranus and Neptune more than I want missions to Mars, Europa, and Titan. NASA wants to prioritize Uranus down the road, since it is closer than Neptune and has less logistical issues.

[@RutraNickers]

Nep needs more love

[@timjs1018]

Could Neptunes tilted magnetic field be from the same mechanism that causes Earth's periodic north-south shifts?

[@eradian1]

This sounds like a pitch for NASA

[@edgeeffect]

"size of 4 Earths"... blimey, I thought it was much bigger. Triton is my favourite planet.

[@scishowspace]

Based on the sources we referenced while working on this script, we intentionally chose to reference radius instead of volume when talking about Neptune’s size. Neptune's radius is 4 times Earth's radius. By volume it is much bigger.