How long is a year on neptune in earth days

How long is a year on neptune in earth days

Here on Earth, we define a year as being the amount of time it takes for the Earth to complete one full orbit around the sun. Every New Year's Day, the Earth returns to the same point it was at the year before. The amount of time it takes a planet to orbit the sun is dependent on how fast a planet orbits the sun, which in turn is determined by how far away a planet is from the sun. The closer a planet is to the sun, the stronger the gravitational pull from the sun. The sun’s gravity keeps the planets in orbit, and the stronger the gravity, the faster the planets move. Thus, the amount of time it takes for each planet to orbit the sun increases as you get further away. How long does it take for each planet to orbit the sun?

The Inner Solar System

How long is a year on neptune in earth days
The four planets of the inner solar system

The planets are generally divided into two separate regions: the inner and outer solar system. Both regions are home to four planets. The inner solar system contains Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. Mercury is the innermost planet in the solar system, as well as the smallest planet in the solar system. Since Mercury orbits closest to the sun, it is also the fastest planet. A year on Mercury is only 88 days long, or just over two months of Earth time. Venus is the second closest planet to the sun and thus has the second shortest year. It takes Venus 225 days to orbit the sun, which isn’t too much shorter than Earth’s 365 days. Mars is the outermost of the rocky planets, and so it takes the longest amount of time to orbit the sun in the inner solar system. It takes Mars 687 days to orbit the sun, nearly twice as long as Earth’s year. 

The Outer Solar System

How long is a year on neptune in earth days
The four planets of the outer solar system

The four planets of the outer solar system are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. As one might expect, the length of a year on each of these worlds is exceptionally longer than that of the inner planets. Jupiter is the innermost of the gas giants, taking 4,333 days to orbit the sun. That’s equivalent to nearly 12 years on Earth. Next is Saturn, which takes 10,759 days to orbit the sun, or nearly 30 years on Earth. Uranus and Neptune are much further from the sun than Jupiter and Saturn, and thus the amount of time they take to orbit the sun is truly mind-blowing. On Uranus, a year is 30,687 days, or about 84 years on Earth. Neptune is even further, taking 60,190 days to orbit the sun. That’s equivalent to 165 years on Earth. In fact, Neptune has only completed one orbit of the sun since its discovery in 1846. 

How long is a Year on other Planets?

One day is the time it takes a planet to spin around and make one full rotation.

Here on Earth that takes 24 hours. (Because a planet is also moving around the sun, its position is constantly changing. That means this is not exactly the same as the time it takes to go from one sunrise to the next.)

But how long are days on other planets in our solar system?

          Day              Length

  • Mercury      1,408 hours
  • Venus         5,832 hours
  • Earth           24 hours
  • Mars           25 hours
  • Jupiter        10 hours
  • Saturn        11 hours
  • Uranus       17 hours
  • Neptune     16 hours

A Year on Mercury

To put it simply, Mercury has an orbital period of 88 days (87.969 to be exact), which means a single year is 88 Earth days – or the equivalent of about 0.241 Earth years.

But here’s the thing. Because of Mercury’s slow rotation (once every 58.646 days) and its rapid orbital speed (47.362 km/s), one day on Mercury actually works out to 175.96 Earth days.

A Year on Venus

The second closest planet to our Sun, Venus completes a single orbit once ever 224.7 days.

This means that a single year on Venus works out to about 0.6152 Earth years.

But, once again, things are complicated by the fact that Venus has an unusual rotation period. In fact, Venus takes 243 Earth days to rotate once on its axis – the slowest rotation of any planet – and its rotation is retrograde to its orbital path.

A Year on Mars

Mars has one of the highest eccentricities of any planet in the Solar System, ranging from 206,700,000 km at perihelion and 249,200,000 km at aphelion. This large variation and its greater distance from the Sun, leads to a rather long year.

Basically, Mars takes the equivalent of 687 days to complete a single orbit around the Sun, which works out to to 1.8809 Earth years.

A Year on Jupiter

Jupiter is another interesting case.

Whereas the gas giant only takes 9 hours 55 minutes and 30 seconds to rotate once on its axis, it also takes alson 11.8618 Earth years to complete an orbit around the Sun.

This means that a year on Jupiter is not only the equivalent of 4,332.59 Earth days, but 10,475.8 Jovian days. That’s a lot of sunrises!

A Year on Saturn

Much like its fellow gas giant Jupiter, Saturn takes it time completing a single orbit of the Sun, but rotates on its axis very rapidly.

All told, a year on the planet lasts the equivalent of 10,759 Earth days (or about 29.122 years). But since it only takes 10 hours, and 33 minutes to complete a single rotation on its axis, a year on Saturn works out to 24,491.07 Saturnian days.

A Year on Uranus

Uranus has some of the strangest annual and seasonal variations of any planet in the Solar System.

For one, the gas/ice giant takes about 84 Earth years (or 30,688.5 Earth days) to rotate once around the Sun. But since the planet takes 17 hours, 14 minutes and 24 seconds to complete a single rotation on its axis, a year on Uranus lasts 42,718 Uranian days.

A Year on Neptune

Given its distance from the Sun, Neptune has the longest orbital period of any planet in the Solar System.

As such, a year on Neptune is the longest of any planet, lasting the equivalent of 164.8 Earth years.

But since Neptune also takes comparatively little time to rotate once on its axis (16 hours, 6 minutes and 36 seconds), a single year lasts a staggering 89,666 Neptunian days.

A Year on Pluto

The dwarf planet remains one of the most fascinating celestial bodies known to astronomers.

In addition to having a very distant orbit around the Sun, it also has the most eccentric orbit of any planet in the Solar System.

This makes for a rather long year on Pluto, which lasts the equivalent of 248 Earth years!

How long is a year on neptune in earth days

How long is a day on Neptune in Earth years?

One day on Neptune takes about 16 hours (the time it takes for Neptune to rotate or spin once). And Neptune makes a complete orbit around the Sun (a year in Neptunian time) in about 165 Earth years (60,190 Earth days). Sometimes Neptune is even farther from the Sun than dwarf planet Pluto.

How long is 1 year on each planet?

A year is the time it takes the earth to make one revolution - a little over 365 days. ... The Days (And Years) Of Our Lives..

How long is a year and a season on Neptune?

Unlike the Earth, however, the seasons of Neptune last for decades, not months. A single season on the planet, which takes almost 165 years to orbit the Sun, can last more than 40 years. If what scientists are observing is truly seasonal change, the planet will continue to brighten for another 20 years.

Would a year on the planet Neptune be longer or shorter than a year on earth?

As the eight and farthest planet from the Sun, Neptune has an extremely wide orbit and a comparatively slow orbital velocity. As a result, a year on Neptune is very long, lasting the equivalent of almost 165 Earth years.