It's also possible to spot a bright, thin line circling the planet's equator, which could be "a visual signature of global atmospheric circulation that powers Neptune's winds and storms," according to the release. This is because gaseous methane, part of the planet's chemical makeup, doesn't appear blue to Webb's Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam).Īlso visible in the images are methane-ice clouds - bright streaks and spots that reflect sunlight before it is absorbed by methane gas. In the new images, Neptune looks white, as opposed to the typical blue appearance it has in views captured at visible wavelengths of light. The planet and its neighbor Uranus are known as "ice giants" because their interiors are made up of heavier elements than the gas giants Jupiter and Saturn, which are richer in hydrogen and helium. Some of the rings haven't been observed since NASA's Voyager 2 got the first photographic proof of the existence of Neptune's rings during its flyby in 1989, CNN reported.ĭark, cold and whipped by supersonic winds, Neptune is the most distant planet in our solar system. In addition to several crisp, narrow rings, the Webb images show Neptune's fainter dust bands. "It has been three decades since we last saw these faint, dusty rings, and this is the first time we've seen them in the infrared," said Heidi Hammel, a Neptune expert and interdisciplinary scientist on the Webb project, in a news release. New images released Wednesday from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope are revealing Neptune, and the planet's hard-to-detect rings, in a fresh light. New images released from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope are revealing Neptune, and the planet's hard-to-detect rings, in a fresh light.
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