Astronomers have released an infrared image of Saturn. Reported by the SETI Institute.
The picture was taken using the James Webb space observatory. The colors in the picture are conditional, but the brightness reflects the real picture. First of all, the rings appear much brighter than the dark planet itself. Gaseous methane in its atmosphere absorbs almost all of the solar radiation with a wavelength of 3.23 microns falling into the atmosphere. As a result, Saturn’s striped patterns are invisible because the methane-rich upper atmosphere obscures the view of the clouds.
Unlike the atmosphere, Saturn’s rings do not contain methane, so at this wavelength they are no darker than in the optical range, outshining the planet. Saturn’s rings are made up of many pieces of rock and ice, ranging in size from a grain of sand to Earth’s mountains. You can also see a number of moons: Dione, Enceladus, and Tethys.
Comparing Saturn’s north and south poles in this image shows typical seasonal changes. Currently, Saturn’s northern hemisphere is experiencing summer, and the southern hemisphere is emerging from the darkness of winter. However, the north pole looks unusually dark, possibly due to an unknown seasonal process affecting polar aerosols.
Formerly paleontologists to solvethat the ancient megalodon shark was warm-blooded.