Two of Neptune's rings haven't been seen in more than 30 years, and eight of Neptune's moons have.

Space 21 September 2022

There is a person by the name ofLeah Crane.

Webb?s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) image of Neptune, taken on July 12, 2022, brings the planet?s rings into full focus for the first time in more than three decades. The most prominent features of Neptune?s atmosphere in this image are a series of bright patches in the planet?s southern hemisphere that represent high-altitude methane-ice clouds. 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. Additionally, for the first time, Webb has teased out a continuous band of high-latitude clouds surrounding a previously-known vortex at Neptune?s southern pole.

The rings of Neptune are visible in an image from a telescope.

NASA, CSA, and CSA are part of the space program.

Neptune has been seen in extraordinary detail by theJWST. The planet has rings, some of its moons and bands of heat.

While Neptune appears blue in visible wavelength due to methane gas in its atmosphere, that methane absorbs the IR light that JWST observes, so the planet appears a sort of glowing white colour when viewed in these wavelength. There are icy clouds in the sky that reflect sunlight before methane can be absorbed.

Neptune has two bright rings and two fainter ones. The rings are full of dust, which makes them dimmer and harder to see than icy rings like the one that encircles the planet.

It has been 30 years since we last saw these faint, dusty rings, and this is the first time we've seen them in theIR.

The last time we were able to see Neptune's rings was in 1989.

There are eight of Neptune's moons visible in the image as spots of light. The moon system is unusual, for instance, that Neptune and Triton are both retrograde.

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  • solar system
  • James Webb space telescope