Neptune Coloring Pages

Where the Name Comes From: A Planet Named for the King of the Deep Sea

Neptune got its name because its beautiful, deep blue color looks just like Earth's ocean.

• English Name (Neptune): This comes from Neptunus, the Roman god of the sea. He is like Poseidon in Greek myths, a god who rules the ocean with a three-pointed spear. People gave this name to the blue planet.

• Japanese Name (Kaiousei): When people translated the English name in the late 1800s, they used words that mean "King of the Sea Planet" in China and Japan.

History of Discovery: The Planet Predicted by Math

Neptune is the only planet found using math first, instead of just seeing it by chance with a telescope!

• A Wobble in Uranus: Scientists calculated the path of Uranus and saw it wobbling a bit. They realized another unseen object's gravity was pulling on it.

• Found in 1846: Le Verrier in France and Adams in England worked on math by themselves and guessed where the planet was. On September 23, 1846, Johann Galle found Neptune right near that spot from the Berlin Observatory in Germany.

Surface and Wild Weather: A World with Super Fast Storms

Just like Uranus, Neptune is an "ice giant." It is mostly made of water, ammonia, and methane ice.

• The Secret to Its Bright Blue Color: Methane gas catches red light and bounces back strong blue light. This makes Neptune look an even deeper blue than Uranus!

• Fastest Winds in the Solar System: Super strong winds blow on Neptune at over 2,100 kilometers per hour (1,300 mph)! That is faster than the speed of sound. It has the wildest storms in the whole solar system!

• The Great Dark Spot: People have seen huge, dark, spinning storms that look like Jupiter's Great Red Spot. This storm is so big it could swallow the whole Earth!

• Active Skies: You can see mixed-up bands of clouds and bright white clouds on its surface. Its skies are always changing and very active!

How to make deep cobalt blue

The most important part of this Neptune coloring page is layering its deep blue colors.

• The base color: First, color the whole thing lightly with bright sky blue. Then, put royal blue and navy over it step by step.

• Use shading: Make the colors darker toward the outer edges. Keep the middle a little lighter. This makes it look round and full, just like a giant ball of gas!

• Methane glow: Mix in a tiny bit of purple. It gives Neptune its cool, magical shine!

How to draw cool storms and clouds

The wavy lines show how powerful the air moves on Neptune.

• Show the Great Dark Spot: Use dark navy or blue that is almost black for the swirling spots. This makes them look like they are spinning fast!

• Highlights for white clouds: To show high clouds, leave some spots white! You can also draw thin lines with a white colored pencil or correction pen to make Neptune pop out.

• Blend the stripes: Do not draw the lines too sharp. Smudge them gently with your finger or a cotton swab. This makes it look like real gas with soft edges!

Backgrounds that make space feel deep

Changing the background makes Neptune look super cool!

• Match with deep darkness: Color the background pure black or very dark navy. This makes the blue Neptune stand out bright and clear!

• Draw faint rings: Neptune has very thin, dark rings. Draw a thin silver or light gray line across the planet to make it look like a real space picture!

• Far away from the sun: Neptune is very far from the sun. Add tiny dots for stars in the empty space to show it glowing all by itself far away!

The planet farthest from the Sun

Neptune is the planet located on the "very outer edge" among the 8 planets traveling around the Sun. Because it is so far away from the Sun, it takes about 165 Earth years just to go around the Sun once!

A blue color as deep as the ocean

Just like Uranus, it looks like a "beautiful blue color" thanks to a gas called methane. But unlike the light blue of Uranus, Neptune is a much darker, deep ocean blue.

The strongest winds blow in the Solar System!

Even though it is a very cold ice planet, Neptune is said to have the "fastest winds" in the entire Solar System. Wild storms blow at amazing speeds, much faster than a bullet train or an airplane!

Neptune has rings, too!

Just like Saturn and Uranus, Neptune has a few "thin rings" around it, too. Space dust and pieces of rock gather in the rings, and some parts are thick and shine brightly!