In Voyager 2's August 1989 image of Neptune, bright clumps can be see in the planet's otherwise-difficult-to-detect rings. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
On Aug. 20, 1977, Voyager 2 launched from Cape Canaveral and began its epic journey to the outer planets – and beyond. Twelve years later, the spacecraft photographed Neptune as it approached the ice giant. Two days after that, on Aug. 22, 1989, NASA announced that Neptune had a ring system; the images had revealed two main rings and two fainter ones. The rings had bright clumps but were overall hard to detect, requiring long exposure times and backlighting from the Sun. On Aug. 25, 1989, Voyager 2 made its closest approach to Neptune, revealing cloud band details and a massive storm on the otherwise teal-blue planet. The flyby also revealed new moons and a close-up view of the geologically active moon Triton.
