On 25 August 1989 Voyager 2 became the first — and still only — spacecraft to skim Neptune, capping the Grand Tour after Uranus three years earlier.
The pass delivered close views of Triton, charted incomplete rings, and measured a fierce windy atmosphere that ground telescopes could only hint at. Engineers aimed the craft with decades-old gravity-assist planning.
Neptune’s portrait is still mostly that one night. Until a future orbiter arrives, August 1989 remains the ice giant’s sharpest close-up.
Comments
0 comments