This picture of Neptune was produced from the last whole planet images taken through the green and orange filters on the Voyager 2 narrow angle camera. The images were taken on 25 years ago at a range of about 7 million km, 4 days and 20 hours before closest approach on 25 August, 1989. The picture shows the Great Dark Spot and its companion bright smudge. The fast moving bright feature called “Scooter” and the little dark spot are visible near the western limb. These clouds were seen to persist for as long as Voyager‘s cameras could resolve them. A bright cloud band similar to the south polar streak may be seen to the north.

Image Credit: NASA

UPDATE—The New Horizons spacecraft crossed the orbit of Neptune today on its way to Pluto. Neptune was not nearby. In July, New Horizons took this picture of Neptune from almost 4 billion km away.Image Credit: NASA