Neptune in a New Light

Produced by the Space Telescope Science Institute’s Office of Public Outreach in collaboration with NASA’s Universe of Learning partners: Caltech/IPAC, Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, and NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

 
Video imagery:

·       Wide field Hubble image of Neptune: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI. Image processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)

·       Labeled Hubble image of Neptune and moons: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI. Image processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)
·       Wide field Hubble image of Neptune: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI. Image processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)

Writer: Leah Ramsay

Designer: Leah Hustak, Joseph Olmsted

Science review: Dr. Quyen Hart

Education review: Jim Manning

Music from Music for Non-Profits

Views of astronomical phenomena; galaxies, stars, nebulas, and planets.

Text, News from the Universe.

September 29, 2022 - Neptune in a new light.

The James Webb Space Telescope has captured the most detailed image of Neptune since the Voyager mission flyby in 1989.

Neptune sits amongst a field of distant stars. Thin rings are visible around the planet.

Text, This is the first time Neptune's faint, dusty bands have been detected in infrared light.

Methane-ice clouds are prominent as bright streaks and spots.

Neptune's largest moon, Triton, stands out with Webb's distinctive diffraction spikes, due to the moon's highly reflective frozen surface.

Webb also detects several of Neptune's smaller moons.

Arrows point to dots around the photo of Neptune;  Galatea, Naiad, Despina, Thalassa, Proteus, Larissa.

In one image, various scales of the universe are presented, from planetary clouds to distant galaxies, showcasing the potential for future discoveries with Webb.

This news was brought to you in part by the SPACE TELESCOPE SCIENCE INSTITUTE