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How close did Voyager 2 pass to Neptune?
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Neptune
A photograph of clouds in Neptune's atmosphere, taken by Voyager 2 in August 1989. The view is from below the planet's equator, and north is up. The Great Dark Spot (center left) is 13,000 km (8,100 miles)āabout the diameter of Earthāin its longer dimension. Accompanying it are bright, wispy clouds thought to comprise methane ice crystals. At higher southern latitudes lies a smaller, eye-shaped dark spot with a light core (bottom left). Just above that spot is a bright cloud dubbed Scooter. Each of these cloud features was seen to travel eastward but at a different rate, the Great Dark Spot moving the slowest.
Voyager 2 passed approximately 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles) above Neptune's north pole on August 25, 1989. This close approach was the final planetary encounter of the mission, allowing scientists to gather detailed data on the planet's magnetic field, atmospheric winds, and ring system.1