2023-07-06 03:00:00
Saturn, as captured by the James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam instrument on June 25, 2023. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Matt Tiscareno (SETI Institute), Matt Hedman (University of Idaho), Maryame El Moutamid (Cornell University), Mark Showalter (SETI Institute), Leigh Fletcher (University of Leicester), Heidi Hammel (AURA), J. DePasquale (STScI). Rory Morrow Meteored United Kingdom 06/07/2023 05:00 4 min
The iconic structure of Saturn has been observed with impressive new details by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), in an image that highlighted unexpected features of the planet’s atmosphere.
Taken in the infrared, this striking image captures Saturn’s rings in all their majesty, the light seeming to bounce off them, shining against the background. This effect is due to the specific infrared wavelength used in the image (3.23 microns).
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At this wavelength, Saturn’s atmosphere, rich in methane, absorbs almost all of the sunlight, which means that its characteristic stripes are not visible. The rings do not contain methane and therefore appear with their usual brightness.
Searching for potential new moons
Designed by researchers from the institute SETIthis new observation of Saturn is not only a beautiful image, it is also a test of the JWST’s ability to detect faint moons around Saturn.
If you take a closer look at the picture, you may be able to make out three small lights to the left of the gas giant. These are the moons of Dione, Enceladus and Tethys. The image is proof of the telescope’s ability to spot moons, which could lead discovering hitherto unknown satellites orbiting Saturn, providing scientists with a more complete picture of the planet’s current environment, as well as its past.
Image of Saturn and some of its moons. Individual rings are labeled. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Matt Tiscareno (SETI Institute), Matt Hedman (University of Idaho), Maryame El Moutamid (Cornell University), Mark Showalter (SETI Institute), Leigh Fletcher (University of Leicester), Heidi Hammel (AURA), J. DePasquale (STScI).
“We are very happy to see the JWST produce this beautiful image, which confirms that our deeper scientific data has also produced good results,” said Dr. Matthew Tiscareno, principal investigator at the SETI Institute. “We can’t wait to dig into the deep exhibits to see what discoveries lie ahead.”
New Details of Saturn’s Atmosphere
Interesting discoveries have already been made, as the image revealed what the researchers call unexpected features associated with high-altitude stratospheric aerosols in Saturn’s atmosphere.
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These include large dark structures in the northern hemisphere that are not aligned with the planet’s lines of latitude. Researchers had previously spotted similar features in Jupiter’s atmosphere. Besides, typical seasonal changes can be seen, including Saturn’s northern hemisphere being in summer and the southern hemisphere in winter.
This image is part of a series of deep-exposed images that scientists will use to look closely at Saturn’s rings, in the hope of identifying new ring structures. Deep exposures, which are not visible in this image, will allow studying the most tenuous rings on the planet, which are not visible in the images above.
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