Launched into space in December 2021 and started its operations in the summer, the James Webb Space Telescope continues to send images from our own star system along with the depths of space. The telescope recently imaged Titan, Saturn’s largest and most unusually visible moon.
Titan, the most interesting moon in the Solar System, caught the eye with its unusual colors in James Webb’s image. This is the new image of Titan, referred to by many as the ‘Earth in alternate reality’:
Titan as seen by James Webb:
- Left: Titan low atmosphere and clouds (NIRCam), Right: Titan atmosphere, surface and clouds (F212N)
- 30-hour change of clouds on Titan from November 4 to November 6 (Left: NIRCam, Right: Keck NIRC-2 equipment)
Titan seems to have an Earth-like structure, as you can clearly see in the photos. But there is actually a big difference between the ‘water’ we see on Titan’s surface and the water on Earth: The clouds, seas, lakes and rivers on Titan are not actually water. These are a mixture of liquid methane and ethane.
James Webb will send data from the Titan satellite in the coming months that we have never been able to reach before. These data, which will be obtained with MIRI equipment, are expected to arrive in the period of May-June 2023. The data will provide important information about the gas in Titan’s atmosphere, as well as provide clues as to why Titan has such a dense atmosphere.
Why couldn’t James Webb, who was able to observe even the first galaxies of the universe, clearly observe Titan at the tip of our noses?
As you can see, the Titan photo is not very clear. Okay, but why can’t the James Webb Space Telescope, which can observe galaxies billions of light years away, clearly view Titan or other planets in the cosmic sense? We explained the answer to this question in our content, where we presented the first Mars photograph taken by James Webb. You can click the link below to have a look.
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