Saturn’s Rings & Moons Dione, Enceladus & Tethys | James Webb Space Telescope

Saturn’s Rings & Moons Dione, Enceladus & Tethys | James Webb Space Telescope

Webb took its first near-infrared look at Saturn on June 25, 2023. The planet appears extremely dark at this wavelength, as methane gas in its atmosphere absorbs sunlight, but its rings stay bright!

Image 1 Description: The background is mostly dark. At the center is a dark orange-brownish circle, surrounded by several blazing bright, thick, horizontal whiteish rings. This is Saturn and its rings. There are three tiny dots in the image—one to the upper left of the planet, one to the direct left of the planet, and the lower left of the planet. They are labeled Dione, Enceladus, and Tethy, respectively. There is a slightly darker tint at the northern and southern poles of the planet. The rings surrounding Saturn are mostly broad, with a few singular narrow gaps between the broader rings. At the right side of the planet, labels are applied to the rings. The innermost, thicker ring is labeled “C ring.” Next to that, a brighter, wider ring is labeled “B ring.” Traveling farther outward, a small dark gap is labeled “Cassini division” before another thicker ring labeled “A ring.” Within the “A ring,” a narrow faint band is labeled “Encke gap.” The outermost, faintest, thinnest ring is labeled “F ring.

This image was taken as part of a Webb science program designed to test the telescope’s capacity to detect faint moons around the planet and study its bright rings. Take a closer look here to find details within the planet's ring system, as well as the moons Dione, Enceladus, and Tethys. Saturn’s rings are made up of an array of rocky and icy fragments—the particles range in size from smaller than a grain of sand to a few as large as mountains on Earth.

Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Matt Tiscareno (SETI Institute), Matt Hedman (University of Idaho), Maryame El Moutamid (Cornell University), Mark Showalter (SETI Institute), Leigh Fletcher (University of Leicester), Heidi Hammel (AURA)

Image Processing: J. DePasquale (STScI)

Release Date: June 30, 2023

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