The James Web Space Telescope has produced a more fascinating view of a solar system planet. The new image of Neptune, the system’s outermost planet, shows its dramatic and often overlooked rings. In addition, the European Space Agency says this image is the clearest image of the planet taken since 1989.
Neptune is so far away that it was only discovered in 1846, and when Pluto was demoted to a dwarf planet in 2006, it officially became the solar system’s outermost planet. The new image taken by the James Web Space Telescope’s Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam) shows how robust Neptune’s ring structure is, and ESA says some of these rings have never been imaged before. The last clear image was taken in 1989 as Voyager 2 passed by.
“It’s been thirty years since we last saw these faint, dusty rings, and it’s the first time we’ve seen them in the infrared,” NASA said in a press release.
Neptune is classified as an ice giant and the planet is rich in hydrogen and helium. It also contains some methane, all of which give Neptune its icy blue appearance when viewed in the visible light spectrum.
The James Web Space Telescope took this new image in near infrared, and the planet appears darker as Neptune’s methane gas absorbs most of the infrared light it receives. The bright streaks and specks in the image are high-altitude clouds that reflect sunlight before it is absorbed by the planet. The James Web Space Telescope was also able to see seven of Neptune’s 14 moons: Triton, Galatea, Naiad, Thalassa, Larissa, Despina, and Proteus.
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