![]() A previously-known vortex at the southern pole is evident in Webb’s view, but for the first time Webb has revealed a continuous band of high-latitude clouds surrounding it. Neptune’s 164-year orbit means its northern pole, at the top of this image, is just out of view for astronomers, but the Webb images hint at an intriguing brightness in that area. The atmosphere descends and warms at the equator, and thus glows at infrared wavelengths more than the surrounding, cooler gases. More subtly, a thin line of brightness circling the planet’s equator could be a visual signature of global atmospheric circulation that powers Neptune’s winds and storms. Keck Observatory, have recorded these rapidly evolving cloud features over the years. Images from other observatories, including the Hubble Space Telescope and the W.M. Such methane-ice clouds are prominent as bright streaks and spots, which reflect sunlight before it is absorbed by methane gas. In fact, the methane gas so strongly absorbs red and infrared light that the planet is quite dark at these near-infrared wavelengths, except where high-altitude clouds are present. Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) images objects in the near-infrared range from 0.6 to 5 microns, so Neptune does not appear blue to Webb. Webb’s extremely stable and precise image quality permits these very faint rings to be detected so close to Neptune. “It has been three decades since we last saw these faint, dusty rings, and this is the first time we’ve seen them in the infrared,” notes Heidi Hammel, a Neptune system expert and interdisciplinary scientist for Webb. ![]() In addition to several bright, narrow rings, the Webb image clearly shows Neptune’s fainter dust bands. Most striking in Webb’s new image is the crisp view of the planet’s rings – some of which have not been detected since NASA’s Voyager 2 became the first spacecraft to observe Neptune during its flyby in 1989. Not only has Webb captured the clearest view of this distant planet’s rings in more than 30 years, but its cameras reveal the ice giant in a whole new light. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope shows off its capabilities closer to home with its first image of Neptune. However, it’s also using its stable and precise image quality to illuminate our own solar system, with images of Mars, Jupiter and now Neptune. Webb is a more than 10-year mission run by NASA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency.Ĭompared with other telescopes, the space observatory’s massive mirror can see fainter galaxies that are farther away and has the potential to enhance scientists’ understanding of the origins of the universe. At that distance, the sun is so small and faint that noon on Neptune is similar to a dim twilight on Earth, the news release said. Located 30 times farther from the sun than Earth, Neptune moves through its solar orbit in the remote, dark region of the outer solar system. Scientists plan to use Webb to further study Triton and Neptune in the coming years. Astronomers think Triton was perhaps an object in the Kuiper Belt - a region of icy objects at the edge of the solar system - that fell into Neptune’s gravitational grasp. ![]() ![]() Webb also captured seven of Neptune’s 14 known moons, including its largest moon, Triton, which moves around the planet at an unusual backward orbit. It’s also possible to spot a bright, thin line circling the planet’s equator, which could be “a visual signature of global atmospheric circulation that powers Neptune’s winds and storms,” according to the release. This is because gaseous methane, part of the planet’s chemical makeup, doesn’t appear blue to Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam).Īlso visible in the images are methane-ice clouds - bright streaks and spots that reflect sunlight before it is absorbed by methane gas. In the new images, Neptune looks white, as opposed to the typical blue appearance it has in views captured at visible wavelengths of light.
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