James Webb Telescope: continue your tour of the Solar System with Neptune


Thibaut Popelier

Gaming Specialist

September 21, 2022 at 7:30 p.m.

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James Webb Neptune © NASA/ESA/CSA and STScI

© NASA / ESA / CSA and STScI

It is an unknown planet of our Solar System which was recently observed by the famous James Webb telescope. After the great shots of Jupiterit is Neptune which is in the spotlight this week.

The eighth planet of our Solar System presents itself to us in a new light.

An almost forgotten world

In 1987, the Voyager 2 probe passed over Neptune and then offered us a superb photo of what can also be described as the “blue planet”. Located 4.3 billion kilometers from the Sun (30 times the distance between the star and the Earth), it has finally been little observed in recent years. But that has just changed thanks to dear James Webb!

James Webb Neptune © ESA

© ESA

The telescope has shared several photos of Neptune. They were captured using the NIRCam instrument, a near infrared camera. The conditions are ideal for seeing the very fine rings as well as the natural satellites of the planet. In passing, we see that Neptune loses its bright blue (caused by the methane in its atmosphere) for a brighter hue. This rendering is obtained via this view in the infrared.

A nice family photo

On the image below, it is possible to see 7 of the 14 moons of Neptune. The most visible is obviously Triton, which seems to shine brightly. Its high luminosity is due to the frozen nitrogen on its surface which reflects 70% of the sunlight. However, our star only illuminates this area of ​​the Solar System very little. For example, a noon on Neptune is as bright as an extremely dark twilight on Earth. In short, this demonstrates the effectiveness of the James Webb telescope.

© NASA / ESA / CSA and STScI

Finally, as we indicated previously, the ice giant takes on unusual colors, again thanks to the light of the Sun which is mainly reflected on its poles. Finally, the researchers spotted white lines at the equator. These would simply represent the atmospheric circulation of Neptune.

In short, James Webb once again delighted us!

Source : ESA



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