![]() The brightening near the edge of Saturn's disk might be due to high-altitude methane fluorescence (the process of emitting light after absorbing light) or emissions in the planet's ionosphere or both. But the darker-than-usual appearance of the Northern Hemisphere could be from "an unknown seasonal process affecting polar aerosols in particular," NASA says. Unexpectedly, "the large, diffuse structures in the Northern Hemisphere do not follow the planet's lines of latitude, so this image is lacking the familiar striped appearance that is typically seen from Saturn's deeper atmospheric layers," according to NASA.ĭifferences in the looks of Saturn's northern and southern poles are normal, according to NASA, as the northern region experiences summertime while the Southern Hemisphere is exiting winter darkness. These exposures test Webb's ability to spot faint moons around the planet and its rings, since any newly discovered moons could help scientists better understand Saturn's present and past systems. The image was taken with Webb's Near-Infrared Camera, known as NIRCam, as part of a Webb program that involves several exceptionally deep exposures of Saturn, according to NASA. The near-infrared observations of the ringed planet are a first for the highly sensitive telescope, according to NASA - which, at 1.5 million kilometres (nearly 932,000 miles) from Earth, observes the universe with wavelengths of light longer than those of other space telescopes. The Cassini division is the largest of the gaps in Saturn's ring system. Saturn's moons Dione, Enceladus and Tethys dot the left side, while the Cassini division, Encke gap and rings A, B, C and F are shown on the right side. ![]() The rings, however, remain bright, creating the "unusual appearance" of the planet in this photo, according to NASA. In the image, Saturn itself appears extremely dark due to the near-total absorption of sunlight by methane gas. Astronomers have discovered surprising details about Saturn's atmosphere, using a new image captured by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope. ![]()
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