The Webb Telescope captures auroras on Neptune in detail for the first time
Kyiv • UNN
The Webb Telescope was able to capture Neptune's auroras in stunning infrared detail for the first time. The activity of the auroras is located in the planet's mid-latitudes, not at the poles.
Neptune lies on the outermost edge of our Solar System, almost 5 billion km from the Sun. Since 1989, the planet has been remotely observed by Hubble telescopes, but new equipment has helped astronomers capture auroras on Neptune in stunning detail. This is reported by UNN with reference to Scitechdaily.
Details
It is noted that only one spacecraft flew past Neptune in 1989. It was NASA's Voyager 2. Since then, the planet has been remotely observed by telescopes such as Hubble, which have tracked Neptune's dynamic weather and even discovered a new moon in 2013.
Neptune, often seen as a calm blue ball, has occasionally displayed dark spots that quickly disappear. But now NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has discovered something completely new: a brilliant aurora shimmering in the planet's atmosphere. It was first captured in stunning infrared detail.
Auroras are formed when a planet's magnetic field captures high-energy particles, mostly from the Sun. They collide with its upper atmosphere, creating a bright light.
Astronomers have previously seen hints of polar activity on Neptune, including during Voyager 2's flyby. But unlike Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus, there were no confirmations or images of auroras on Neptune. This made it the last of the giant planets without direct evidence of this phenomenon.
First images of auroras on Neptune
The first images of auroras on Neptune were obtained in June 2023 using Webb's Near-Infrared Spectrograph.
It turned out that the real image of auroras on Neptune was possible only with Webb's sensitivity in the near-infrared range. It was so amazing not just to see the auroras, but the detail and clarity really shocked me
Features of auroras on the icy giant
The auroral activity that can be seen on Neptune is noticeably different from what we are used to seeing here on Earth, Jupiter, or Saturn. Instead of being confined to the north and south poles of the planet, Neptune's auroras are located in the planet's mid-latitudes - roughly where South America is located on Earth. This is due to the nature of the planet's magnetic field, which is tilted 47 degrees from the planet's axis of rotation. Since polar activity is based on where magnetic fields converge into the planet's atmosphere, Neptune's auroras are located far from its poles of rotation.
The innovative detection of Neptune's auroras will help to understand how Neptune's magnetic field interacts with particles flowing from the Sun to the distant reaches of our Solar System, which is a completely new window into the science of the icy giants' atmosphere.
Why Neptune's auroras were hidden for so long
Thanks to Webb's observations, the team also measured the temperature of Neptune's upper atmosphere for the first time since Voyager 2's flyby. They have cooled by several hundred degrees since 1989.
For many years, astronomers have predicted the intensity of Neptune's auroras based on the temperature recorded by Voyager 2. A significantly lower temperature results in much weaker auroras. It is likely that the low temperature is the reason why Neptune's auroras remained unnoticed for so long.
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