Happy Birthday, Neptune!

[mckitterick]

It's now been one (Neptunian) year since Neptune was discovered by Johann Gottfried Galle of the Berlin Observatory on September 23, 1846. Because its orbital period (year) is 164.79 Earth-years, Neptune completed its first orbit since its discovery on July 12, 2011: also James Gunn's birthday! (You can wish him happy birthday at Facebook.) Coincidence?

Wrapping up this year's wonderful CSSF Science Fiction Summer program - including the Science Fiction Writers Workshop, the Campbell Conference and start of the Intensive Institute on the Teaching of SF - got in the way of my remembering to celebrate!


Voyager 2 captured this Neptune shot in 1989. Click the image to see the NASA article about and more photos of Neptune.

I even wrote an article for Steven H. Silver's Argentus fanzine, alongside such science and SF luminaries as Mike Brotherton, Michael A. Burstein, Brother Guy Consolmagno, SJ, Marianne Dyson, Kurt Erichsen, Brad W. Foster, Heidi Hammel, Bill Higgins, Sue Mason, Christian Ready, Steven H Silver himself, MO Starkey, Steve Stiles, and Diane Turnshek.

Happy (belated) Birthday, Neptune!

Chris

Comments

[steve98052.livejournal.com]

Thanks for sharing. I didnt know Neptune had been discovered that recently. I'd take a look if weather permitted.

[pyjioh.livejournal.com]

Happy Birthday, Neptune!

[mckitterick.livejournal.com]

The reason it's such a recent discovery is that Neptune is so dim (as seen from Earth) that it requires a telescope to observe, unlike all the planets sunward of it.

[karin-gastreich.livejournal.com]

Happy Birthday, Neptune!

(And thanks for a great conference, Chris!)

[mckitterick.livejournal.com]

Thank YOU for coming! I hope you signed lots of things and made lots of connections.

[steve98052.livejournal.com]

That is true, but it's still recent compared with the invention of telescopes capable of observing it. Then again, it wasn't really possible to discover it without first discovering Uranus, since its discovery (if I remember correctly) was partially related to trying to resolve anomalies in the orbit of Uranus.

[mckitterick.livejournal.com]

Right!