Neptune (Ice giant), a real image
Image: NASA/JPL.

Planets of the Solar System

Neptune

Ice giant

The farthest planet from the Sun, a cold blue ice giant with the fastest winds in the Solar System.

Key facts

Type
Ice giant
Diameter
49,528 km
Average distance from the Sun
4,515 million km
One orbit
About 164 Earth years
One day
About 16.1 hours
Known moons
16 (NASA)

About the Neptune

How to recognise it

Neptune is blue with bright white clouds and dark storm spots. Our Voyager 2 image from 1989 shows the Great Dark Spot, a storm that later disappeared.

What it is like

Neptune is about 30 times farther from the Sun than Earth, so one orbit takes about 164 years. It is an ice giant like Uranus. Its largest moon, Triton, orbits backwards.

Sources

Facts checked: 29 October 2026