NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope Just Spotted Something on Neptune Astronomers Have Never Seen Before | Space

For the first time, new images made possible by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have revealed the glow of Neptune’s elusive aurora.

Although auroras have been observed on other planets in our solar system, the phenomenon has never been documented in imagery of the eighth planet from the Sun. The new Webb images reveal the planet’s aurora as areas of hazy cyan blue (see below).

Auroras result from highly energetic particles from the Sun trapped in a planet’s magnetic field, which carries them toward its upper atmosphere. As these particles release energy, they produce the luminous phenomenon often associated with the polar regions when seen here on Earth.

Past studies had already hinted at the presence of auroral activity on Neptune, although no direct observations had ever been made until now.

Henrik Melin, a researcher with Northumbria University and lead author of a new paper discussing…more
Source thedebrief.org