The rings of Saturn are made up of rocky and icy fragments, with particles running in size from smaller than a single grain of sand up to some that are as large as mountains here on Earth. These include the thin G ring and the diffuse E ring. Deeper exposure will help the team probe some of Saturn’s more faint rings that aren’t visible in this image. Saturn’s ring system is shown in clear detail along with several of the planet’s over 140 known moons-Dione, Enceladus, and Tethys. Image Processing- Joseph DePasquale (STScI). Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI). The initial imagery from JWST’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) is already fascinating researchers. CREDITS: Image- NASA, ESA, CSA, Matthew Tiscareno (SETI Institute), Matthew Hedman (University of Idaho), Maryame El Moutamid (Cornell University), Mark Showalter (SETI Institute), Leigh Fletcher (University of Leicester), Heidi Hammel (AURA). On June 25, 2023, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope turned to famed ringed world Saturn for its first near-infrared observations of the planet. Newly discovered Saturnian moons could help scientists paint a more complete picture of the planet’s current system and its past history. Several very deep exposures of the sixth planet from the sun, which were designed to test JWST’s capacity to detect faint moons around Saturn and its bright rings. This new image was taken as part of Webb Guaranteed Time Observation program 1247. Its famed icy rings are still relatively bright, making Saturn look a bit more unusual. The methane gas in the planet absorbs almost all of the sunlight that is falling on the atmosphere. The planet itself appears very dark at this infrared wavelength observed by the telescope. On June 25, JWST used its hard working Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) to capture stellar images of Saturn using near-infrared observations for the first time. Now the JWST has its sights set on the ringed planet Saturn. It’s been almost one year since NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) released its first finds to the public.
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