NULL, UNDEFINED, DE SUNSET: 7:11 PM MOON: 3% WAXI

MENU
THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO ASTRONOMY

SOLAR SYSTEM

NEPTUNE'S RINGS,
JUPITER'S “FROSTED
CUPCAKES,” AND 3D
VIEWS OF MARS
BY: MONICA YOUNG SEPTEMBER 23, 2022 1

GET ARTICLES LIKE THIS SENT TO YOUR INBOX

Email (required) *

SIGN UP

Three solar system emissaries

have returned beautiful and even
interactive vistas of Neptune,
Jupiter, and Mars.

A NEW VIEW OF NEPTUNE'S RINGS

This image of the Neptune system, captured by Webb’s Near-

Infrared Camera, reveals views of the planet’s rings and captures
details of the planet’s turbulent, windy atmosphere. The image also
shows seven of Neptune's 14 known moons. (Click on the image to
see the moons labeled.)
NASA / ESA / CSA / STScI

The James Webb Space Telescope has provided us

with another breathtaking image, this time of Neptune
and its gossamer rings. We haven't detected some of
these rings since Voyager 2's flyby of the planet in
1989.

Neptune itself appears dark in the image because trace

amounts of methane in its atmosphere absorb the
near-infrared wavelengths Webb was observing.
However, high-altitude clouds appear bright because
their methane ice crystals reflect sunlight before they
can absorb it. A thin line at the equator also appears
bright, because this is where the atmosphere warms
and sinks.

The image also shows seven of Neptune's 14 known

moons, including the brilliant Triton, surfaced in
highly reflective frozen nitrogen, at upper left.
Because Triton is much brighter than Neptune, it
carries Webb's characteristic diffraction spikes.

"FROSTED CUPCAKE" CLOUDS ON JUPITER

First 3D renders from JunoCa…

Reporting at the 2022 Europlanet Science Congress,

citizen scientist, mathematician, and software
developer Gerald Eichstädt presented a new view of
data from NASA's Juno spacecraft, which is still
whizzing around our system's largest planet every 43
days.

Flying 13,500 km above Jupiter's cloudtops, Juno

recorded the intensity of visible light. Since brighter
clouds typically correspond to higher-elevation
clouds, Eichstädt was able to plot the visible light
intensity in 3D to portray the clouds' appearance:

The data came from JunoCam, a camera placed on the

spacecraft primarily for public engagement. Citizen
scientists such as Eichstädt have transformed this
camera's visible-light images into beautiful Jovian
panoramas.

Now, Eichstädt's new look at some of that data reveals

more about the workings within the swirling clouds,
showing how some rise to much higher elevations
than others. There's more work to be done to sort out
how the clouds' chemical compositions (which can
also be deduced from Juno data) affect their height.

ROLL WITH PERSEVERANCE IN JEZERO

CRATER
 +
" –


O

© 1000 m  

Experience Jezero Crater in 3D with a new

visualization presented by Sebastian Walter (Free
University of Berlin) at the 2022 Europlanet Science
Congress. The interactive map shows Perseverance's
drive thus far, including waypoints to which you can
drop down and step into the scene.

If you have a virtual reality setup, you can really get

into the immersive experience, but even accessing the
panoramas with a smartphone will provide 3D views
of the landing site, the crater center, and the delta left
behind by the river that once flowed into Jezero.

The base layer map comes from instruments on the

European Space Agency's Mars Express and NASA's
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, both of which provide
sharp images of the terrain around Perseverance.
Some of the panoramas are digitally rendered from
the orbital data; other panoramas come from the
rover's own cameras.

“Initially we created the Jezero map as an outreach

application,” Walter says. “But as the rover returns
more and more high-resolution image data and even
audio recordings, it turns out to be the perfect tool for
immersive visualisation of that data in a scientific
context by itself.”

There's at least one Easter egg to be found in the map

— go to the Panoramic Views on the lefthand
navigation and click on Hogwallow Flats to “roll” with
Perseverance. Just make sure you have your volume
on!

ADVERTISEMENT

TAGS

JAMES WEBB SPACE TELESCOPE JUNO PERSEVERANCE

COMMENTS

Anthony-Mallama

September 23, 2022 at 11:12 am

The Jezero crater VR panoramas are amazing. 'Paleo

lake view' with the water level filled in is especially
intriguing. A wonderful article with the Neptune and
Jupiter news, too.

LOG IN TO REPLY

You must be logged in to post a comment.

You must be logged in to post a comment.

RELATED POSTS

CELESTIAL NEWS &

EVENTS

This Week's Sky

at a Glance,
September 23 –
October 1
BY: ALAN MACROBERT
SEPTEMBER 23, 2022

About S&T
ABOUT US CONTACT US
MEET THE STAFF RENEW/GIFT SUBSCRIPTIONS
JOB OPPORTUNITIES EMAIL NEWSLETTERS
SHOP @ SKY HELP & RESOURCES
AUSTRALIAN EDITION PRIVACY POLICY

For Contributors For Media

WRITING FOR S&T S&T PRESS RELEASES
IMAGE SUBMISSION FAQ PERMISSION REQUESTS
TIPS FOR SUBMITTING IMAGES

For Advertisers
ADVERTISING INFORMATION
CONTACT ADVERTISING

Subscribe to Sky &

Telescope Magazine

SUBSCRIBE

Sky & Telescope is part of AAS Sky Publishing, LLC, a wholly

owned subsidiary of the American Astronomical Society. Sky &
Telescope, Night Sky, and skyandtelescope.org are registered
trademarks of AAS Sky Publishing LLC. Sky & Telescope maintains
a strict policy of editorial independence from the AAS and its
research publications in reporting developments in astronomy to
readers.

Copyright ©2022 AAS Sky Publishing

LLC. All rights reserved.

JOIN OUR NEWSLETTER