Webb Captures Clear View of Neptune’s Rings

Neptune as seen by the Webb telescope, shimmering and opalescent against a black sky, with whitish rings.

NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI

September 21, 2022

Credit	NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI
Language	english

This image of the Neptune system, captured by Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam), reveals stunning views of the planet’s rings, which have not been seen with this clarity in more than three decades. Webb’s new image of Neptune also captures details of the planet’s turbulent, windy atmosphere.

To the upper left of the planet in this image, one of Neptune’s moons, Triton, also sports Webb’s distinctive eight diffraction spikes, an artifact of the telescope’s structure. Webb also captured 6 more of Neptune’s 14 known moons, along with a smattering of distant galaxies that appear as dim splotches and a nearby star.

More information: https://www.nasa.gov/solar-system/new-webb-image-captures-clearest-view-of-neptunes-rings-in-decades/

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