The Daily Mash tells me that it’s one year since Neptune was discovered. A lot has happened in that time – Pluto was demoted to junk-planet status, we discovered the possibility of planets around other stars and explored to within a few seconds (?) of the Big Bang. But Neptune is still going strong, doing what Neptune does. Happy Birthday Neptune!
July 14, 2011
Happy Birthday Neptune!
Posted by faustusnotes under Science | Tags: stars in my pocket like grains of sand |[5] Comments
Compromise and Conceit 
July 16, 2011 at 6:11 am
It’s been a busy year alright, but Good ole Father Neptune keeps on chugging along. I look forward to the next year, but not sure I’ll be around for the next birthday!
July 16, 2011 at 11:45 pm
Let’s make that our goal! Neptune’s second birthday here we come!
July 17, 2011 at 6:09 am
I’m not sure I would want to be around for Neptune’s second birthday. I doubt human life will be tolerable beyond 200, a nice number to achieve in cricket, but I’ll be a bit long in the tooth by then. Not to mention I’m a climate change pessimist. By 2175 the effects of climate change will be savagely intense, and I doubt even this patch of Canada will be worth living in by then.
July 17, 2011 at 6:16 am
Neptune was found as a result of research and predictions by the French astronomer Urbain Le Verrier; one of the most magnificent handles in astronomical history.
July 17, 2011 at 6:21 pm
That is a very cool handle!
I’m also turning into a climate change pessimist, but I figure it’s better to live an extra 200 years and end it all if you don’t like what you see, than to die 200 years sooner and miss the chance. As my friend Dr. P once said about finding a purpose to life when one is an atheist, “I’m drawn by the irresistible flow of the narrative – I just have to see how it all ends!”