FIRST-EVER GLIMPSE OF NEPTUNE’S AURORAS CAPTURED BY WEBB

Thu 27 March 2025:

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has captured bright auroral activity on Neptune for the first time, NASA said on Wednesday.

The data was obtained in June 2023 using Webb’s Near-Infrared Spectrograph. In addition to the image of the planet, astronomers obtained a spectrum to characterize the composition and measure the temperature of the planet’s upper atmosphere, according to NASA.

For the first time, astronomers found an extremely prominent emission line signifying the presence of the trihydrogen cation, which can be created in auroras, said NASA.

In the Webb images of Neptune, the glowing aurora appears as splotches represented in cyan.

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“Turns out, actually imaging the auroral activity on Neptune was only possible with Webb’s near-infrared sensitivity,” said lead author Henrik Melin of Northumbria University, who conducted the research while at the University of Leicester. “It was so stunning to not just see the auroras, but the detail and clarity of the signature really shocked me.”

Auroras occur when energetic particles, often originating from the Sun, become trapped in a planet’s magnetic field and eventually strike the upper atmosphere. The energy released during these collisions creates the signature glow.

In the past, astronomers have seen tantalizing hints of auroral activity on Neptune. However, imaging and confirming the auroras on Neptune has long evaded astronomers despite successful detections on Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus, according to NASA.

Since Neptune is about 4.5 billion kilometers from the Sun, solar activity reaching the planet is weak, making these auroras even more remarkable. Hubble’s ultraviolet observations revealed flickering, shifting auroras over Neptune’s poles, providing new insights into its magnetic field and atmosphere.

This discovery helps scientists understand space weather in the outer solar system.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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