Scientists using the James Webb Space Telescope have captured stunning images of Saturn as it transitions from summer to fall.
The Earth experiences seasons due to its tilted axis, which causes different amounts of sunlight to reach each hemisphere as it travels around the sun. Saturn also goes through similar seasonal changes, with each season lasting around seven Earth-years because one orbit takes 29 Earth-years.
The northern hemisphere of Saturn has been in summer since NASA’s Cassini mission, which orbited the planet for 13 years, ended in 2017.
Cooling Trend
To understand the transition from one season to another, the Webb Telescope focused on Saturn, specifically its “ringed planet,” as its northern autumnal equinox approaches in 2025. The observations revealed a cooling trend in Saturn’s late northern summer, with significant air movements reversing direction.
The Webb Telescope also observed Saturn’s north pole, which will soon become invisible as it enters a long polar winter.
Seasonal Changes
The Webb Telescope’s MIRI instrument captured infrared images that provided scientists with crucial information about temperatures, gases, chemicals, and clouds at different levels of Saturn’s atmosphere. Comparing the current observations to those made by Cassini during the planet’s northern winter and spring revealed differences in temperatures and gases in Saturn’s stratosphere.
Impressive Data
The Webb Telescope is highly sensitive to light, requiring it to focus on small sections of Saturn at a time to prevent overwhelming its detectors. The resulting images were overlayed onto visible light images of Saturn taken by the Hubble Space Telescope.
“The quality of the new data from JWST is truly awe-inspiring,” said Professor Leigh Fletcher from the University of Leicester School of Physics and Astronomy. “In just one set of observations, we have continued the legacy of the Cassini mission into a completely new season on Saturn and witnessed how weather patterns and atmospheric circulation respond to changing sunlight.”
Expanding Boundaries
The Webb Telescope is primarily known for its significance in astrophysics, but these initial findings suggest its crucial role in planetary astronomy. “JWST can observe in wavelengths of light previously inaccessible to any other spacecraft, providing an exquisite dataset that fuels anticipation for future discoveries,” added Fletcher.
This Saturn study is just the beginning of a series of observations of all four gas giant planets. “If a single observation of a single world can yield so many new findings, one can only imagine the discoveries that lie ahead,” concluded Fletcher.
Wishing you clear skies and a sense of wonder.
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