NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has captured the most detailed images of Neptune’s glowing auroras yet. While faint signs of the auroras were first detected by Voyager 2 in 1989 through ultraviolet light, Webb’s infrared images provide direct evidence of their existence.
NASA released the images on Wednesday, with the results published in Nature Astronomy, reports AP.
Auroras occur when electrically charged particles from space interact with a planet’s atmosphere, releasing light. On Earth, these auroras are visible near the polar regions, creating the northern and southern lights.
While auroras on Saturn and Jupiter have been extensively studied, Neptune—being the farthest planet from the Sun—has been more difficult to observe up close.
"Neptune has always been elusive," said James O’Donoghue, planetary scientist at the University of Reading and co-author of the study. "Its auroras had only been seen by Voyager, and we’ve been trying to see them again ever since."
Unlike Earth, Neptune’s auroras occur near the planet's mid-latitudes, rather than the poles, due to differences in its magnetic field, which influences the extent of auroral activity, O’Donoghue explained.
More than three decades after Voyager 2’s flyby, scientists have observed Neptune’s auroras once again using the Webb telescope, marking the "first robust detection," according to co-author Heidi Hammel of the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy.
The researchers also noted that Neptune's atmosphere has cooled significantly since the 1980s, which may have dimmed the auroras' brightness.
Bd-pratidin English/FNC
