Neptune packs about 17 Earth masses into its globe
Neptune’s mass is roughly seventeen times Earth’s — heavier than Uranus — yet both ice giants share similar diameters near four Earth widths.
That extra mass raises Neptune’s mean density and deepens its gravity well compared with its twin. Spacecraft trajectories and moon orbits both feel the stronger pull.
Mass separates look-alike worlds. Neptune’s seventeen Earths explain why it holds Triton tightly and why models give it a richer store of interior heat.
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