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What are the names of the bright arcs in Neptune’s Adams ring?
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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)—about the diameter of Earth—in 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.
The bright arcs within Neptune’s Adams ring are regions where the density of ring particles is particularly high. From leading to trailing, the most prominent arcs are named:
- Courage
- Liberté
- Egalité 1
- Egalité 2
- Fraternité1