Planets · Planet
Neptune’s deep blue, and why the famous Voyager 2 picture is bluer than the planet really looks.
Featured palette: Voyager 2 green and orange filter view, August 1989 (Sampled from this image)
#364FBD#456FFB#3244AA#3A53D4#2B3380#1D2252#0C0C25
Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI. · released 21 September 2022
About Neptune
Neptune is the farthest known planet, an ice giant with an atmosphere of hydrogen and helium and a little methane. NASA notes that methane absorbs other colours and reflects blue, much as on Uranus.
| Classification | Planet |
|---|---|
| Orbits | Sun |
| Diameter | 49,528 kmequatorial diameter · NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive |
| Orbital period | 59,800 daysorbital period around the Sun · NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive |
| Rotation period | 16.1 hourssidereal rotation period (negative: retrograde) · NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive |
| Length of day | 16.1 hourslength of a solar day · NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive |
| Axial tilt | 28.3°obliquity to orbit (axial tilt) · NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive |
| Mean temperature | -200 °Cmean temperature as defined by the NASA fact sheet (surface or 1-bar level); not comparable with stellar temperatures · NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive |
| Known moons | 16number of known moons on the access date · as listed on 2026-10-25 · NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive |
| Ring system | Yeshas a ring system · NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive |
Why these colours?
A reconstructed blue
The Voyager 2 picture was produced from green and orange filter images only. Two filters cannot record full colour, and later reprocessing found the deep blue too strong.
From: Voyager 2 green and orange filter view, August 1989 Enhanced visible colour
Infrared
In Webb’s near-infrared view methane absorption makes the planet dark while the rings stand out.
From: Webb near-infrared view, 12 July 2022 Mapped non-visible data
Colour clusters describe pixels in an image; they cannot identify a mineral, a gas or a physical temperature. Shares of pixels describe the sampled region of the image, not the object’s surface.
Colours from selected views
Palettes sampled from identified images and regions, or calculated from a documented model. These values describe each image or model, not one permanent colour of Neptune.
Voyager 2 green and orange filter view, August 1989
Sampled from this image · Voyager 2 green and orange filter view, August 1989
#364FBDRGB 54, 79, 189region average#456FFBRGB 69, 111, 25125% of the region#3244AARGB 50, 68, 17021% of the region#3A53D4RGB 58, 83, 21219% of the region#2B3380RGB 43, 51, 12814% of the region#1D2252RGB 29, 34, 8213% of the region#0C0C25RGB 12, 12, 378% of the region
See where these colours came from
Webb near-infrared view, 12 July 2022
Sampled from this image · Webb near-infrared view, 12 July 2022
#27282ERGB 39, 40, 46region average#070706RGB 7, 7, 646% of the region#0D0C0DRGB 13, 12, 1342% of the region#1A1821RGB 26, 24, 338% of the region#353543RGB 53, 53, 672% of the region
See where these colours came from
Creative palettes inspired by Neptune
A design derived from the selected representation. It is not a scientific colour measurement. Each colour keeps the sampled colour it was made from.
Deep Neptune
Inspired by this object
#1B31CARGB 27, 49, 202from #456FFB#181789RGB 24, 23, 137from #3244AA#1C19ACRGB 28, 25, 172from #3A53D4#161166RGB 22, 17, 102from #2B3380#0D0C3FRGB 13, 12, 63from #1D2252#04031BRGB 4, 3, 27from #0C0C25
Voyager’s blues deepened for a rich, dark palette.
Explore the views and the 3D model
Voyager 2 green and orange filter view, August 1989Enhanced visible colourWebb near-infrared view, 12 July 2022Mapped non-visible dataPick a colour from the image. Click or tap the picture to read a colour. Picked colours are yours, not catalogue samples.
Schematic sphere A plain sphere tinted with the anchor colour of the named view; it shows no surface detail and no measured shape. A plain sphere tinted with the anchor colour of the Voyager image. NASA’s Neptune texture is a painting by Don Davis (marked fictional), so it is not used. Objects are enlarged or scaled for inspection unless stated otherwise.
Use these colours
Every palette above opens in the palette generator. With JavaScript you can also add colours to your cosmic palette, save them, make a gradient or pattern, preview them in a design or a room (you choose which colour goes on which surface), check digital accessibility and export them. Each colour keeps the view and sample it came from.
Paint matches compare digital swatches for design inspiration. They are not physical equivalents of light from space. Edits create a new design palette. The original representation remains unchanged.
Questions about Neptune’s colours
Is Neptune really that blue?
The classic Voyager 2 image exaggerates it, because only green and orange filters were used. Neptune is blue, but paler.
Sources
- About the Planets — NASA
- Planetary Fact Sheet — Metric — NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive (Metric table, retrieved 2026-10-25 (sha256 42bdc3f1dae470b8…))
- 3D Resources — NASA
- PIA01492 — NASA
- Neptune Close-Up (NIRCam Image) — ESA/Webb
Image credits
- Voyager 2 green and orange filter view, August 1989: NASA/JPL. NASA media (not copyrighted; see the NASA image and media guidelines). Resized for the web from the publisher’s file (sha256 c42c08f28e0c57ab8ae558bce1703fcd67d3cd5b7537157e4b12fd3df5a07bfd).
- Webb near-infrared view, 12 July 2022: NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI. CC BY 4.0. Resized for the web from the publisher’s file (sha256 810e9b8bcf1f507d1ee4cb04be05703b5db5f7b350af86fa218801bf07ebc670).
Images were resized once for the web; colours were measured from the published files (k-means in OKLab, pcke-oklab-kmeans-1); calculated colours use the CIE 1931 2° observer. Facts last reviewed 25 October 2026. Catalogue pcke-cosmos-2026-10-25, page revision e2ab81b1f761. No ESA, ESO or NASA endorsement is implied.