Webb takes infrared (heat) image of Saturn
Using the Webb Space Telescope, scientists on June 25, 2023 took the wonderful false color infrared (heat) image of Saturn above, cropped to post here, as part of a research project [pdf] to take a number of long exposures of the ringed planet in order to test Webb’s ability to see its small moons. From the press release:
Saturn itself appears extremely dark at this infrared wavelength observed by the telescope, as methane gas absorbs almost all of the sunlight falling on the atmosphere. However, the icy rings stay relatively bright, leading to the unusual appearance of Saturn in the Webb image.
…This new image of Saturn clearly shows details within the planet’s ring system, along with several of the planet’s moons – Dione, Enceladus, and Tethys. Additional deeper exposures (not shown here) will allow the team to probe some of the planet’s fainter rings, not visible in this image, including the thin G ring and the diffuse E ring. Saturn’s rings are made up of an array of rocky and icy fragments – the particles range in size from smaller than a grain of sand to a few as large as mountains on Earth.
The picture also shows differences between Saturn’s northern and southern hemispheres, caused by the seasonal differences between the two.
Using the Webb Space Telescope, scientists on June 25, 2023 took the wonderful false color infrared (heat) image of Saturn above, cropped to post here, as part of a research project [pdf] to take a number of long exposures of the ringed planet in order to test Webb’s ability to see its small moons. From the press release:
Saturn itself appears extremely dark at this infrared wavelength observed by the telescope, as methane gas absorbs almost all of the sunlight falling on the atmosphere. However, the icy rings stay relatively bright, leading to the unusual appearance of Saturn in the Webb image.
…This new image of Saturn clearly shows details within the planet’s ring system, along with several of the planet’s moons – Dione, Enceladus, and Tethys. Additional deeper exposures (not shown here) will allow the team to probe some of the planet’s fainter rings, not visible in this image, including the thin G ring and the diffuse E ring. Saturn’s rings are made up of an array of rocky and icy fragments – the particles range in size from smaller than a grain of sand to a few as large as mountains on Earth.
The picture also shows differences between Saturn’s northern and southern hemispheres, caused by the seasonal differences between the two.