Astronomer’s Notebook: Neptune was mysterious, but more now known about 8th planet

Astronomer’s Notebook: Neptune was mysterious, but more now known about 8th planet

The eighth and most distant planet from the sun, Neptune, reaches opposition with the sun on Sept.23, when it will be in its best position for viewing for the year. Neptune is too faint to see with the unaided eye, but a telescope will show a tiny bluish disk against the star field of the constellation Pisces, and just over 2 degrees to the east (left) of Saturn. As it turns out, that date also happens to be the 179 anniversary of Neptune’s disc…