The James Webb Space Telescope, which has shown us the depths of space in the clearest way since the summer months of 2022, shows our own system as we have not seen it from time to time. The telescope last photographed Saturn, the ringed giant of the Solar System.
Saturn, the second largest planet in our system, posed like a work of art in the shared photos. As a result of the infrared filters used in the telescope, the rings appeared bright white and the planet itself almost black.
Here is Saturn as seen by James Webb:
Click here to view in high resolution.
The above image was taken with the long wavelength filter in the telescope. In the images taken with the short wavelength filter, Saturn’s cloud layers consisting of different gases became visible:
Click here to view in high resolution.
While the images only keep us growing, the scientific world aims to make new discoveries with these images and the next. The team of Leigh Fletcher from the University of Leicester, behind the photos we see above, also wanted images of Saturn’s moons and medium wavelength filters to be taken.
These images have not been shared yet. The team states that with the new images, undiscovered moons of Saturn can also be discovered.