Heidi B. Hammel is a Webb interdisciplinary scientist leading Webbs Cycle 1 Guaranteed Time Observations (GTO) of the planetary system. She is the vice president for science at the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) in Washington, D.C.
Leigh Fletcher is a professor of planetary science at the University of Leicester in England. Leigh is the primary investigator for several of Webbs Guaranteed Time Observation Programs, consisting of Program 1247 highlighted here.
Matt Tiscareno is a Senior Research Scientist at the SETI Institute, California, where he studies the dynamics of planetary systems, including planetary rings. He is an essential member of the Webb Guaranteed Time Observation group for the study of Saturn.
Saturn, the sixth planet from the sun in our planetary system, is known for its distinctive and striking ring system. This gas giant is the second-largest world in the planetary system after Jupiter and is made up mostly of hydrogen and helium. Its renowned rings are made up of countless particles, ranging from tiny, grain-like pieces to huge portions the size of mountains, mostly composed of ice and rock.
Image of Saturn and some of its moons, recorded by the James Webb Space Telescopes NIRCam instrument on June 25, 2023. NASAs James Webb Space Telescope offered distinct near-infrared imagery of Saturn on June 25, 2023. Image of Saturn and some of its moons, recorded by the James Webb Space Telescopes NIRCam instrument on June 25, 2023. When comparing the southern and northern poles of the planet in this image, the differences in look are common with recognized seasonal modifications on Saturn. A small hint of lightening up towards the edge of Saturns disk may be due to high-altitude methane fluorescence (the process of emitting light after soaking up light), emission from the trihydrogen ion (H3+) in the ionosphere, or both; spectroscopy from Webb could assist confirm this.
This new image of Saturn plainly reveals information within the planets ring system, in addition to numerous of the planets moons– Dione, Enceladus, and Tethys. Additional much deeper exposures (not revealed here) will allow the team to probe a few of the worlds fainter rings, not noticeable in this image, consisting of the thin G ring and the scattered E ring.
Saturns rings are made up of a range of rocky and icy pieces– the particles vary in size from smaller than a grain of sand to a couple of as big as mountains in the world. Researchers recently used Webb to check out Enceladus, and discovered a large plume jetting from the southern pole of the moon that consists of both particles and plentiful quantities of water vapor– this plume feeds Saturns E ring.
Saturns environment also shows surprising and unforeseen detail. Although the Cassini spacecraft observed the atmosphere at higher clarity, this is the very first time that the planets environment has actually been seen with this clarity at this specific wavelength (3.23 microns), which is special to Webb.
The big, dark, scattered structures in the northern hemisphere do not follow the worlds lines of latitude, so this image is lacking the familiar striped appearance that is usually seen from Saturns deeper climatic layers. The patchiness is reminiscent of massive planetary waves in the stratospheric aerosols high above the main clouds, potentially similar to those seen in early Webb NIRCam observations of Jupiter.
Picture of Saturn and a few of its moons, caught by the James Webb Space Telescopes NIRCam instrument on June 25, 2023. In this monochrome image, NIRCam filter F323N (3.23 microns) was color mapped with an orange hue. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, M. Tiscareno (SETI Institute), M. Hedman (University of Idaho), M. El Moutamid (Cornell University), M. Showalter (SETI Institute), L. Fletcher (University of Leicester), H. Hammel (AURA); image processing by J. DePasquale (STScI).
NASAs James Webb Space Telescope supplied special near-infrared imagery of Saturn on June 25, 2023. The observations highlighted Saturns atmospheric characteristics, exposed intricate details of its ring system, and recognized a number of moons. This imagery will assist researchers understand the worlds system more thoroughly, exposing both seasonal modifications and prospective faint moons, as well as the makeup of its environment.
On June 25, 2023, NASAs James Webb Space Telescope turned to renowned ringed world Saturn for its first near-infrared observations of the planet. The initial images from Webbs NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) is currently fascinating researchers.
Saturn itself appears exceptionally dark at this infrared wavelength observed by the telescope, as methane gas takes in almost all of the sunlight falling on the environment. The icy rings remain fairly bright, leading to the uncommon look of Saturn in the Webb image.
Saturn has a fascinating system of over 80 moons, the most popular of which is Titan, larger than the world Mercury and covered in a dense, nitrogen-rich atmosphere. Saturns yellowish shade is a result of ammonia crystals in its upper atmosphere.
When comparing the southern and northern poles of the planet in this image, the differences in look are typical with known seasonal changes on Saturn. A small tip of brightening towards the edge of Saturns disk might be due to high-altitude methane fluorescence (the procedure of emitting light after taking in light), emission from the trihydrogen ion (H3+) in the ionosphere, or both; spectroscopy from Webb could help verify this.
Objectives like NASAs Pioneer 11, Voyagers 1 and 2, the Cassini spacecraft, and the Hubble Space Telescope have tracked Saturns atmosphere and rings for many years. These observations from Webb are simply a hint at what this observatory will include to Saturns story in the coming years as the science group digs deep into the information to prepare peer-reviewed results.
Science Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Matt Tiscareno (SETI Institute), Matt Hedman (University of Idaho), Maryame El Moutamid (Cornell University), Mark Showalter (SETI Institute), Leigh Fletcher (University of Leicester), Heidi Hammel (AURA).
About the Authors.
Image of Saturn and a few of its moons, recorded by the James Webb Space Telescopes NIRCam instrument on June 25, 2023. In this monochrome image, NIRCam filter F323N (3.23 microns) was color mapped with an orange shade. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, M. Tiscareno (SETI Institute), M. Hedman (University of Idaho), M. El Moutamid (Cornell University), M. Showalter (SETI Institute), L. Fletcher (University of Leicester), H. Hammel (AURA); image processing by J. DePasquale (STScI).
This image was taken as part of Webb Guaranteed Time Observation program 1247. The program included numerous really deep exposures of Saturn, which were created to check the telescopes capability to find faint moons around the planet and its bright rings. Any freshly found moons could help researchers put together a more total photo of the existing system of Saturn, in addition to its past.