![]() ![]() That should provide new intel on the rings’ composition and dynamics, as well as on how Neptune’s clouds and storms evolve, Milam says. ![]() Neptune has 14 known satellites, seven of which are visible in this image. Upcoming JWST observations will look at Neptune with other scientific instruments. The James Webb Space Telescopes Near-Infrared Camera image of Neptune and its rings. “JWST was designed to look at the first stars and galaxies across the universe, so we can really see fine details that we haven’t been able to see before,” Milam says. The enormity of the telescope’s mirror also makes its images extra sharp. “The rings have lots of ice and dust in them, which are extremely reflective in infrared light,” says Stefanie Milam, a planetary scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., and one of JWST’s project scientists. A few bright patches mark where high-altitude methane ice clouds reflect sunlight.Īnd then there are the ever-elusive rings. According to NASA, the James Webb Space Telescope has captured the clearest view of Neptunes rings in more than 30 years. That’s because methane gas in the planet’s atmosphere absorbs much of its infrared light. Neptune itself appears mostly dark in the new image. Neptune’s elusive rings appear as thin arcs of light in this 1989 image from the Voyager 2 spacecraft, taken shortly after the probe made its closest approach to the planet. That’s when the James Webb Space Telescope, or JWST, turned its sharp, infrared gaze toward the planet from roughly 4.4 billion kilometers away ( SN: 7/11/22). James Webb Space Telescope captures strikingly crisp images of Neptune and its rings By Katie Hunt, CNN Published 11:40 AM EDT, Wed SeptemLink Copied Ad Feedback This. In those photos, taken in visible light, the rings appear as thin, concentric arcs.Īs Voyager 2 continued to interplanetary space, Neptune’s rings once again went into hiding - until July. Other planned science targets within the solar system include the rings. Apart from Neptune’s several bright, narrow rings, the Webb image also shows Neptune’s fainter dust bands. This is the clearest image of the icy planet and its ring since the Voyager 2 spacecraft flew by it in 1989. The last time anyone saw Neptune’s rings was in 1989, when NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft, after tearing past the planet, snapped a couple grainy photos from roughly 1 million kilometers away ( SN: 8/7/17). (Hammel was involved in the imaging campaign of the 1989 flyby of Neptune. NASA released a James Webb Space Telescope image that captured Neptune and its rings. Unlike the dazzling belts encircling Saturn, Neptune’s rings appear dark and faint in visible light, making them difficult to see from Earth. The stunning portrait is a huge improvement over the rings’ previous close-up, which was taken more than 30 years ago. In an infrared image released September 21, Neptune and its gossamer diadems of dust take on an ethereal glow against the inky backdrop of space. Humankind is seeing Neptune’s rings in a whole new light thanks to the James Webb Space Telescope. ![]()
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