NASAโs James Webb Space Telescope shows off its capabilities closer to home with its first image of Neptune. Not only has Webb captured the clearest view of this distant planetโs rings in more than 30 years, but its cameras reveal the ice giant in a whole new light.
Most striking in Webbโs new image is the crisp view of the planetโs rings โ some of which have not been detected since NASAโs Voyager 2 became the first spacecraft to observe Neptune during its flyby in 1989. In addition to several bright, narrow rings, the Webb image clearly shows Neptuneโs fainter dust bands.What do we see in Webb’s latest image of the ice giant Neptune? Webb captured seven of Neptuneโs 14 known moons: Galatea, Naiad, Thalassa, Despina, Proteus, Larissa, and Triton. Neptuneโs large and unusual moon, Triton, dominates this Webb portrait of Neptune as a very bright point of light sporting the signature diffraction spikes seen in many of Webbโs images.