NASA’s next-generation space telescope has a blue-eyed special among its observations of the solar system.
The James Webb Space Telescope will soon focus its attention on two intriguing “ice giants,” Uranus and Neptune, after releasing its first operational images on July 12th. Sharp eyes and the location of Webb’s deep space will be especially valuable in discovering details about these. two worlds, given only one spacecraft (Voyager 2) that briefly sailed through them during the 1980s.
Since then, scientists have been forced to use numerous telescopes to monitor time in these worlds, and Webb will be a welcome addition to the team. Scientists want the observatory to study the composition and temperature of each atmosphere to get an idea of how circulation patterns and weather in distant worlds develop, according to a 2020 statement (opens a new tab) on the planned research .
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As the community asks to mount a mission to Uranus and Neptune, Webb represents an opportunity to look at these worlds in high definition to learn more about their differences with Jupiter and Saturn. Neptune and Uranus are smaller and have interiors less rich in hydrogen and helium than their larger neighbors.
“The key thing Webb can do is very, very difficult to get from any other facility is to map its atmospheric temperature and chemical structure,” said study leader Leigh Fletcher, a planetary scientist of the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom. the launch of the Baltimore Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI).
uranium (image credit: NASA)
“We believe the weather and climate of the ice giants will have a fundamentally different character compared to the gas giants,” Fletcher said. “This is partly because they are so far from the sun, they are smaller in size and rotate more slowly on their axes, but also because the gas mixture and the amount of atmospheric mixture are very different compared to Jupiter and Saturn.”
Webb’s average infrared wavelength range will allow researchers to distinguish between gases from the upper atmospheres of the two planets and find out how sunlight affects their production (if any).
The studies are being conducted through a guaranteed time-observation program with Webb, led by Webb’s interdisciplinary scientist Heidi Hammel. Hammel is also a STScI planetary scientist known for decades of telescopic observations and spacecraft from Uranus and Neptune, including with Voyager 2.
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