It is another news that makes the circle of astronomy and star lovers are buzzing right now. After the latest on April 7 “National Astronomical Research Institute” Has released information stating that “Stunned the industry with these stunning images of #Uranus captured by James Webb.” On April 6, 2023, the European Space Agency (ESA) released images of Uranus from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) revealing clouds in the atmosphere. 11 super clear rings and 6 large moons
This image was captured by JWST’s NIRCam instrument, a near-infrared camera. The near-infrared sensors processed together between 1.4 and 3.0 µm are shown in blue and orange respectively. Therefore, the blue shown in this image is only a representative color of the 1.4 µm data, not a color. True to be seen in the wavelengths visible to the human eye.
The brightest area on Uranus in the image is the polar cap, which astronomers find. This area becomes especially bright when the poles are facing the sun, and gradually fades as the poles turn away from the sun. The two brightest spots are the clouds in Uranus’ atmosphere that shine prominently in the infrared. Astronomers expect These clouds are likely involved in the formation of storms on Uranus. The data obtained from JWST this time will help to better understand the mechanisms of Uranus’ atmosphere that are still largely enigmatic.
In addition, the JWST image also shows Uranus’s ring layers, 11 of the 13 layers, of which Uranus has very thin rings. Difficult to see in the visible light spectrum But it can be clearly seen in the infrared spectrum. Including in the wide-angle image, it also shows the large moons of Uranus, number 6 out of 27.
All this is a data collection with a period of only 12 minutes and using only 2 wavelengths for processing. in the near future The research team plans to use JWST to its full potential. To collect Uranus data to get more resolution..
Thank you for images and information from @NARIT, National Astronomical Research Institute.