Via the AFP: Neptune has a ‘warm’ south pole, astronomers find:

An international team of astronomers say that Neptune, long dismissed as a cobalt-blue gas giant cloaked in deathly cold, has a relatively warm south pole.

[…]

A Neptunian “year” is the same as 165 Earth years, for this is the time the distant planet takes to circle the Sun.

Because of the planet’s tilt, the south pole has been exposed to the Sun for the past 40 years, creating a relative “hot spot,” the CNRS said.

Eventually, as Neptune continues its crawl around the Sun, the south pole will be darkened and the north will be illuminated, and the methane escape will shift there.

“In 80 years, when Neptune’s north pole emerges into summer, we can expect the situation to be reversed,” the CNRS said.

No commentary–I just think that space news is cool.

But here’s some Neptunian trivia gleaned from the story: Neptune has the strongest winds of any planet in the solar system, topping 1,200 mph.