Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) image of Neptune, taken on July 12, 2022, brings the planet’s rings into full focus for the first time in more than three decades.
<p>The most prominent features of Neptune’s atmosphere in this image are a series of bright patches in the planet’s southern hemisphere that represent high-altitude methane-ice clouds. More subtly, a thin line of brightness circling the planet’s equator could be a visual signature of global atmospheric circulation that powers Neptune’s winds and storms. Additionally, for the first time, Webb has teased out a continuous band of high-latitude clouds surrounding a previously-known vortex at Neptune’s southern pole.
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NIRCam was built by a team at the University of Arizona and Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Technology Center.
<p>IMAGE: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI
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IMAGE PROCESSING: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)
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