LOOK: NASA reveals stunning image of Saturn's rings
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) unveiled a stunning image of Saturn's iconic rings.
The viral picture was captured by James Webb Space Telescope's near-infrared camera on June 25 as part of Webb Guaranteed Time Observation program 1247, which was designed to gauge the device’s capability in detecting faint moons and the rings surrounding the ringed planet to paint a more comprehensive picture of its system.
NASA also released a monochrome image showing details of Saturn's ring system and its moons: Dione, Enceladus, and Thetys. The planet appears to be very dark due to methane gas’ absorption of the sunlight in the atmosphere, so its striped pattern is not visible.
The rings, on the contrary, lack methane, so the image still displays a better exposure of them. They are composed of solid chunks of ice and rocks that range from the size of a grain to some of Earth’s mountains.
The faint brightening that is observable by the edge of Saturn’s disk may be attributed to high-altitude methane fluorescence or the emission of light after absorbing it.
This marks the first time for the public to see Saturn’s atmosphere with better clarity using the Webb telescope at the wavelength of 3.23 microns, something unique to the device.
Other NASA missions like the Pioneer 11, Voyagers 1 and 2, Cassini spacecraft, and the Hubble Space Telescope have monitored the rings and atmosphere for decades.