In the new image, released today (September 21) by the European Space Agency (ESA), we solar systemits eighth planet Poseidon it shimmers like a glorious crystal ball, with a stack of gas rings magically wrapped around it. Astronomers have known for decades that the ice giant, located about 30 times farther than sun from Earth, has five rings made mostly of frozen dust. The new image reveals these cold rings in sharper detail than any survey since the Voyager 2 probe passed within a few thousand miles of Neptune in 1989, according to ESA.
New images from the James Webb Space Telescope reveal 7 of Neptune’s 14 moons, including the large, bright moon Triton (top left). (Image credit: NASA/ESA/CSA and STScI) “Apart from several bright narrow rings, the Webb images clearly show Neptune’s faintest dust belts,” ESA researchers wrote in a statement. “Webb’s extremely stable and precise image quality allows these very faint rings to be detected so close to Neptune.” Floating near the edge of our solar system, Neptune is a world of near-permanent twilight, invisible to the naked eye. But to visible light In images taken by Voyager 2 and the Hubble Space Telescope, Neptune appears strikingly blue. That coloration comes from methane in the planet’s nebulous atmosphere, which likely extends deep into the planet before merging into a superheated ocean of molten ice, ammonia and other compounds, according to NASA. At JWST, which uses a special sensor to capture light nearinfrared wavelengths, these methane clouds glow eerily with reflected sunlight, giving the planet a more eerie, white appearance. Another striking feature in the new JWST image is the moons of Neptune. Seven of the planet’s 14 known moons are on display here, including its largest, Triton – seen as the intensely sharp point of light in the upper left corner. Although it looks like a bright star, Triton is actually just a highly reflective, icy rock. “Covered with a frosty sheen of concentrate nitrogenTriton reflects an average of 70 percent of the sunlight that hits it,” according to ESA. “It overshadows Neptune because the planet’s atmosphere is darkened by methane absorption at Webb wavelengths.” JWST began operations on July 12 and has already released a number of enchanting images of the universefocusing on objects as close to Earth as incredibly far. The telescope will continue to observe both Neptune and Triton next year, according to ESA. Originally published in Live Science.
