Neptune, the planet four times wider than earth and the most distant one in the solar system, was visited for the last time in 1989 by NASA’s Voyager 2. NASA’s James Webb Telescope has captured images of the majestic planet for the first time, and NASA shared the images on its official Instagram page. The rings of the distant planet are evident in the images, most explicit in over thirty years, as it may be said.
The Infrared vision
The solid infrared vision of the Webb Telescope has captured the picture with Triton and Neptune at the center, along with stars and galaxies in the background. Neptune system expert Heidi Hammel wrote in a blog that this is the first time these faint rings have been captured by infrared. Just one day after capturing Mars for the first time, NASA clicked Neptune’s image.
Neptune
Neptune has fascinated researchers always since 1846 when it was discovered. Neptune’s orbits are located in dark and remote regions. The chemical makeup of Neptune’s interior makes it like a giant made of ice, and the elements there are much heavier than helium and hydrogen.
Images captured by Voyager 2 back in 1989 increased the curiosity of the astronomers on the planet. Since then, they have been continuously trying to know more about the distant ice giant of the solar universe. After that, Hubble Space Telescope also captured some images of Neptune. But Webb Telescope’s infrared light created an unprecedented image.
Webb Telescope
NASA launched James Webb Space Telescope in December 2021, collaborating with Canadian Space Agency and European Space Agency. It provides additional information on the orbiters, other telescopes, and rovers on Mars via infrared sensitivity.
NASA’s Instagram handle is recently filled with pictures of Mars. The images are very detailed to provide a clear view of the planet’s surface, including dust layers and craters.
