James Webb’s ‘Neptune rings’ ‘clearly captured’ after 30 years
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has captured a clear image of Neptune’s faint rings. This is the first discovery since it appeared in images taken by Voyager 2 during a close flight in 1989. In addition, James Webb observed 7 of Neptune’s 14 moons. [사진=NASA]
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has captured the clearest picture of Neptune’s rings in over 30 years since Voyager 2.
NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) released a clear image of Neptune’s faint rings on the 21st (local time). According to NASA, James Webb used the Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam) to observe Neptune in the infrared region of 0.6 to 5 μm (micrometer).
Neptune is about 4.3 billion kilometers from Earth. Neptune, the outermost planet and the eighth planet in the solar system, has a ring like other Jupiter planets, but has not been detected since it appeared in images taken by Voyager 2 during a close flight in 1989.
“It’s been 30 years since I last saw this faint ring,” said James Webb Project scientist and Neptune expert Dr. Heidi Hamel.
Experts expected that this filming would contribute to uncovering the secrets of Neptune. James Webb said he has captured 7 of Neptune’s 14 moons (moon) and found interesting light in the north pole of Neptune.
A NASA official said, “At the top of the captured image, the object that shines brighter than Neptune is Triton. Triton’s surface is covered with condensed nitrogen ice, which reflects 70% of the sun’s light. It absorbs it and makes it appear brighter than Neptune.”
On the other hand, Triton is a retrograde moon that rotates in the opposite direction to Neptune. Astronomers hypothesized that Triton was originally one of the celestial bodies located in Kuiperbent, but was drawn to the moon by Neptune’s gravitational pull.
The Kuiper Belt refers to small celestial bodies and ice grains orbiting the solar system that do not grow into planets outside Neptune.