– /AFP
The James Webb Telescope after its launch, December 25, 2021PHOTO/NASA TV” – NO MARKETING – NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS – DISTRIBUTED AS A CUSTOMER SERVICE
SPACE: Like a pretty marble on the edge of our solar system. the space telescope james webb delivered never-before-seen footage of the planet neptune and its rings, which provide valuable information about its atmosphere, NASA announced on Wednesday, September 21.
astronomers I haven’t had such a clear view of the solar system’s most distant planet since the brief, single pass of a probe, Voyager 2, in the vicinity of this icy giant in 1989.
The telescope’s infrared vision provides a new way to analyze its atmosphere, said Mark McCaughrean, science and exploration advisor for the European Space Agency (ESA).
🪐We’re always big fans of Saturn, but Neptune’s rings give us all the feels in this new image from @NASAWebb. It is… https://t.co/g1l0znSats
—NASA Solar System (@NASASolarSystem)
The telescope removes all glare from the sun’s reflection off Neptune’s surface and light pollution from its surroundings, so “to start guessing the atmospheric composition” of the planet, this astronomer who worked for more than 20 years on the James Webb project told AFP.
Neptune appeared bluish in images taken in the visible waveband. hubble telescopedue to the presence of methane in its atmosphere.
Neptune in a new light! 🔵 Hubble’s view of this planet looks quite different from @NASAWebb’s new image, in the r… https://t.co/oHRi9IaUyH
—Hubble (@NASAHubble)
With James Webb’s NIRCam instrument, which works in the near infrared, the planet takes on a grayish-white colored hue. The image also shows “strange light” at one of Neptune’s poles, said nashas in a press release.
The telescope also captured images of seven of the planet’s fourteen known moons. And in particular of Triton, which by its brightness resembles a small star. Larger than the dwarf planet Pluto, it also appears brighter than Neptune due to sunlight reflecting off its icy surface.
That is not a star. It’s Neptune’s large and unusual moon, Triton! Because Triton is covered in frozen and condensed nitrogen… https://t.co/B5wRCfFSnP
—NASA Webb Telescope (@NASAWebb)
Astronomers looking for planets outside our solar system have found that those like Neptune or Uranus are the most common.
“The ability to look at them up close will make it easier to look at the other (ice giants) orbiting other stars.” than our Sun, explained Mark McCaughrean.
In service since last July, the James Webb is the most powerful space telescope ever deployed. It will allow a kind of astronomy. “which was unthinkable even five years ago”Mark McCaughrean said.
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