Neptune's Rings Captured on Camera, Clearest View in Decades
Neptune's Rings Crystal Clear Shot Of The Ice Giant ... Best View in Decades!!!
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is giving the younger generation something they've probably never seen before -- an extremely detailed look at Neptune and its rings, which hasn't been captured this clearly in over 3 decades.
NASA released the high-res snapshot of the ice giant Wednesday ... showing off a crisp view of the planet's multiple rings -- and even its faint dust bands, too.
Some of the rings haven't been spotted since Voyager 2 first observed Neptune in 1989. Shining bright above the planet is Triton, one of Neptune's 14 known moons.
Heidi Hammel, a Neptune system expert and scientist for Webb, says this isn't just breaking ground for the visual of the rings -- "this is the first time we've seen them in infrared."
In fact, the infrared cameras are the exact reason why the planet isn't coming up blue in the pics -- looking a little different to die-hard fans of our Solar System's 8th planet.
This telescope is no joke -- as we reported, it's been giving us great looks at our universe and beyond this year. NASA showed off its capabilities in true form in July, giving everyone a clear view of the Southern Ring planetary nebula (NGC 3132) and its two stars.
We also got a look at 5 galaxies known as Stephan’s Quintet, which NASA describes as colliding galaxies that are "pulling and stretching each other in a gravitational dance."
Cool.