{"id":36905,"date":"2022-09-21T14:24:52","date_gmt":"2022-09-21T14:24:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/?p=112179"},"modified":"2022-09-21T14:37:54","modified_gmt":"2022-09-21T14:37:54","slug":"neptunes-rings-are-incredible-in-brand-new-webb-telescope-image","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/neptunes-rings-are-incredible-in-brand-new-webb-telescope-image\/","title":{"rendered":"Neptune\u2019s rings are incredible in brand new Webb Telescope image"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>

By Iain Todd\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 21 September 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

So far, most of the James Webb Space Telescope\u2019s images have revealed infrared views of deep-sky objects like galaxies<\/a> and nebulae<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And while we have already seen beautiful Webb images of Jupiter<\/a> and its moons, planet fans have been waiting to see what else it can show us of our own Solar System.<\/p>\n

NASA has now released an incredible view of ice giant Neptune<\/a>, captured by JWST on 12 July 2022, that reveals the planet\u2019s rings and faint dust bands in amazing detail.<\/p>\n

See James Webb Space Telescope\u2019s latest images<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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A view of Neptune, its rings, moons and large moon Triton captured by the James Webb Space Telescope, 12 July 2022. Credit: Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, processed by Joseph DePasquale (STScI)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Planetary scientists are already discussing the new Webb image of Neptune in relation to those captured by the Voyager 2 spacecraft as it flew by the planet in 1989.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has been three decades since we last saw those faint, dusty bands, and this is the first time we\u2019ve seen them in the infrared<\/a>,\u201d says Heidi Hammel, interdisciplinary scientist for Webb.<\/p>\n

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Neptune\u2019s rings, as seen by Voyager 2. Credit: NASA\/JPL-Caltech<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n
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Cloud systems seen in Neptune\u2019s southern hemisphere, photographed by the Voyager 2 spacecraft. Credit: NASA<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Anyone familiar with Voyager 2\u2019s images of Neptune might be wondering why the ice giant doesn\u2019t appear vibrant blue in these new JWST images.<\/p>\n

The answer lies in\u00a0Webb\u2019s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam), which images objects in the near-infrared range from 0.6 to 5 microns.<\/p>\n

The methane gas that gives Neptune its blue hue in the Voyager 2 images actually absorbs red and infrared light, so the planet appears almost dark\u00a0 in near-infrared, except for those regions where high-altitude clouds are present.<\/p>\n

\"""\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
An annotated view of Neptune, its rings, moons and large moon Triton captured by the James Webb Space Telescope, 12 July 2022. Credit: Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, processed by Joseph DePasquale (STScI)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

The large, bright point of light with diffraction spikes<\/a> that dominates the image is Triton, Neptune\u2019s largest moon.<\/p>\n

But look closely and you can also see 7 of Neptune\u2019s 14 known moons surrounding the planet.<\/p>\n

Triton appears so large because it is covered in nitrogen ice, meaning its surface reflects about 70% of sunlight that hits it.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s thought that Triton may also contain a subsurface ocean, which is why a new mission called Trident to visit Triton<\/a> is currently being planned.<\/p>\n

NASA says more Webb studies of Triton and Neptune are expected in 2023, meaning we are soon to learn even more about this incredible planet and its large, mysterious moon.<\/p>\n

But for now, this incredible image of Neptune captured by humanity\u2019s largest space telescope is a tantalising glimpse as to how JWST is poised to reveal our entire Solar System in a brand new light over the coming decades.<\/p><\/body><\/html>\n

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By Iain Todd Published: Wednesday, 21 September 2022 at 12:00 am So far, most of the James Webb Space Telescope\u2019s images have revealed infrared views of deep-sky objects like galaxies and nebulae. And while we have already seen beautiful Webb images of Jupiter and its moons, planet fans have been waiting to see what else […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":36906,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"3"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/09\/neptunes-rings-are-incredible-in-brand-new-webb-telescope-image.png",1680,1120,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/09\/neptunes-rings-are-incredible-in-brand-new-webb-telescope-image-150x150.png",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/09\/neptunes-rings-are-incredible-in-brand-new-webb-telescope-image-300x200.png",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/09\/neptunes-rings-are-incredible-in-brand-new-webb-telescope-image-768x512.png",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/09\/neptunes-rings-are-incredible-in-brand-new-webb-telescope-image-1024x683.png",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/09\/neptunes-rings-are-incredible-in-brand-new-webb-telescope-image-1536x1024.png",1536,1024,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/09\/neptunes-rings-are-incredible-in-brand-new-webb-telescope-image.png",1680,1120,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Iain Todd Published: Wednesday, 21 September 2022 at 12:00 am So far, most of the James Webb Space Telescope\u2019s images have revealed infrared views of deep-sky objects like galaxies and nebulae. And while we have already seen beautiful Webb images of Jupiter and its moons, planet fans have been waiting to see what else…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/36905"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36906"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36905"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}