{"id":393738,"date":"2026-03-26T04:33:40","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T18:33:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?guid=4d77007b6c8e50a7b1d33796f6b0c228"},"modified":"2026-03-26T04:33:40","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T18:33:40","slug":"webb-captures-saturn-in-infrared","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=393738","title":{"rendered":"Webb Captures Saturn in Infrared"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"\" class=\"hds-media hds-module wp-block-image\">\n<div class=\"margin-left-auto margin-right-auto nasa-block-align-inline\">\n<div class=\"hds-media-wrapper margin-left-auto margin-right-auto\">\n<figure class=\"hds-media-inner hds-cover-wrapper hds-media-ratio-none \"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/full-res-for-display-2.png\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1312\" height=\"1313\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/full-res-for-display-2.png?w=1312\" class=\"attachment-2048x2048 size-2048x2048\" alt=\"An image of Saturn on the black background of space. Image is labeled Saturn, Webb Infrared Light, November 29, 2024. Saturn has horizontal bands, with bands at the north and south poles appearing darker orange and lightening to tan as they approach the equator. The north and south poles glow a greenish-grey. The rings appear in an icy neon white. White dots, representing several of Saturn\u2019s moons, are labeled Janus, Dione, and Enceladus.\" style=\"transform: scale(1); transform-origin: 50% 50%; object-position: 50% 50%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" loading=\"eager\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/full-res-for-display-2.png 1312w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/full-res-for-display-2.png?resize=150,150 150w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/full-res-for-display-2.png?resize=300,300 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/full-res-for-display-2.png?resize=768,769 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/full-res-for-display-2.png?resize=1024,1024 1024w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/full-res-for-display-2.png?resize=50,50 50w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/full-res-for-display-2.png?resize=100,100 100w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/full-res-for-display-2.png?resize=200,200 200w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/full-res-for-display-2.png?resize=400,400 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/full-res-for-display-2.png?resize=600,600 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/full-res-for-display-2.png?resize=900,900 900w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/full-res-for-display-2.png?resize=1200,1200 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1312px) 100vw, 1312px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><figcaption class=\"hds-caption padding-y-2\">\n<div class=\"hds-caption-text p-sm margin-0\">Captured Nov. 29, 2024 by NASA\u2019s James Webb Space Telescope, this infrared view of Saturn shows its glowing icy rings and layered atmosphere. Several moons are visible, including Janus, Dione, and Enceladus.<\/div>\n<div class=\"hds-credits\">NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI; Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Saturn&#8217;s icy rings glow in this infrared view from NASA&#8217;s James Webb Space Telescope released on March 25, 2026. Combining this image with <a href=\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/asset\/webb\/saturn-wfc3-uvis\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/asset\/webb\/saturn-wfc3-uvis\/\" rel=\"noopener\">another that NASA&#8217;s Hubble Space Telescope captured<\/a> \u2013 also released on the same day \u2013 provides scientists with a richer, more layered understanding of the gas giant&#8217;s atmosphere.<\/p>\n<p>In Webb&#8217;s infrared image, the rings are extremely bright because they are made of highly reflective water ice. In addition, Saturn&#8217;s poles appear distinctly grey-green, indicating light emitting at wavelengths around 4.3 microns. This feature could come from a layer of high-altitude aerosols in Saturn&#8217;s atmosphere that scatters light differently at those latitudes. Another possible explanation is auroral activity, as charged molecules interacting with the planet&#8217;s magnetic field can produce glowing emissions near the poles.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/missions\/webb\/nasa-webb-hubble-share-most-comprehensive-view-of-saturn-to-date\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Read more about this image and what it, along with Hubble&#8217;s, can tell us about Saturn.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>Image credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI; Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)<\/em><\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Saturn\u2019s icy rings glow in this infrared view from NASA\u2019s James Webb Space Telescope released on March 25, 2026. Combining this image with another that NASA\u2019s Hubble Space Telescope captured \u2013 also released on the same day \u2013 provides scientists with a richer, more layered understanding of the gas giant\u2019s atmosphere. In Webb\u2019s infrared image, [\u2026]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16726],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-393738","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-saturn"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/393738","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=393738"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/393738\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":393809,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/393738\/revisions\/393809"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=393738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=393738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=393738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}