The clearest Neptune ever photographed

Once again the James Webb Space Telescope has captured a beautiful and sophisticated view within the celestial bodies of the Solar System. The European Space Agency (ESA) says the latest image of Neptune taken this time has a thin ring and is the sharpest image since 1989.

Because Neptune is so far away, it was discovered in 1846 and became an outer planet in the solar system in 2006 when Pluto was demoted to a quasi-planet. This image was taken with a near-infrared camera, NIRCam, and the structure of Neptune’s rings has been accurately captured. According to ESA, the ring was first seen during the Voyager 2 flyby in 1989.

Although it has been 30 years since the last observation of this faint, dusty ring, NASA says it has seen it for the first time in infrared light. Classified as an ice giant planet, Neptune appears pale blue when viewed in visible light due to its abundance of hydrogen and helium and methane. But in the new near-infrared image, Neptune appears dark because methane absorbs most of the red light. The bright spots visible on the surface are high altitude clouds that reflect sunlight before being absorbed by planetary methane. In addition, the James Webb Space Telescope has managed to observe seven of the 14 satellites, including Triton, Galatea, Naiad, Tarasa, Larisa, Despina, and Proteus. Relevant information can be found here.