Good telescope to see rings of saturn8/25/2023 "We look forward to digging into the deep exposures to see what discoveries may await." Matthew Tiscareno, a senior research scientist at the SETI Institute who led the process of designing this observation. "We are very pleased to see JWST produce this beautiful image, which is confirmation that our deeper scientific data also turned out well," said Dr. 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. In this monochrome image, NIRCam filter F323N (3.23 microns) was color mapped with an orange hue. Image of Saturn and some of its moons, captured by the James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam instrument on June 25, 2023. This new image of Saturn also reveals intricate details within the ring system, showcasing several of the planet's moons like Dione, Enceladus, and Tethys. Unlike the atmosphere, Saturn's rings lack methane, so at this infrared wavelength, they are no darker than usual and thus easily outshine the darkened planet. Interestingly, researchers previously spotted similar wave-like in early JWST NIRCam observations of Jupiter. Instead, Saturn's disk appears dark, and we see features associated with high-altitude stratospheric aerosols, including large, dark, and diffuse structures in Saturn's northern hemisphere that don't align with the planet's lines of latitude. As a result, Saturn's familiar striped patterns aren't visible because the methane-rich upper atmosphere blocks our view of the primary clouds. Methane gas absorbs almost all the sunlight falling on the atmosphere at this picture's specific infrared wavelength (3.23 microns). Any newly discovered moons could help scientists put together a more complete picture of the current system of Saturn, as well as its past. This image serves as context for an observing program that will test the telescope's capacity to detect faint moons around the planet and its bright rings.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply.AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |