A bright spot at the center is surrounded by many concentric rings. The rings are nearly — but not exactly — circular in appearance. Please see the explanation for more detailed information.
中心的亮点被许多同心环包围。这些环的外观几乎是圆形的，但并不完全是。 有关更多详细信息，请参阅说明。
See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available.
请参阅说明。单击图片将下载可用的最高分辨率版本。
See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available.
请参阅说明。单击图片将下载可用的最高分辨率版本。
2023年8月19日 Ringed Ice Giant Neptune Image Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, NIRCam Explanation: Ringed ice giant Neptune lies near the center of this sharp near-infrared image from the James Webb Space Telescope. The dim and distant world is the farthest planet from the Sun, about 30 times farther away than planet Earth. But in the stunning Webb view, the planet’s dark and ghostly appearance is due to atmospheric methane that absorbs infrared light. High altitude clouds that reach above most of Neptune’s absorbing methane easily stand out in the image though. Coated with frozen nitrogen, Neptune’s largest moon Triton is brighter than Neptune in reflected sunlight, seen at the upper left sporting the Webb telescope’s characteristic diffraction spikes. Including Triton, seven of Neptune’s 14 known…
2023年7月12日 Rings and Bar of Spiral Galaxy NGC 1398 Image Credit: Mark Hanson; Data: Mike Selby Explanation: Why do some spiral galaxies have a ring around the center? Spiral galaxy NGC 1398 not only has a ring of pearly stars, gas and dust around its center, but a bar of stars and gas across its center, and spiral arms that appear like ribbons farther out. The featured deep image from Observatorio El Sauce in Chile shows the grand spiral galaxy in impressive detail. NGC 1398 lies about 65 million light years distant, meaning the light we see today left this galaxy when dinosaurs were disappearing from the Earth. The photogenic galaxy is visible with a small telescope toward the constellation of the Furnace (Fornax). The…
2022年12月23日 Cassini Looks Out from Saturn Image Credit: NASA, JPL-Caltech, Space Science Institute Explanation: This is what Saturn looks like from inside the rings. In 2017, for the first time, NASA directed the Cassini spacecraft to swoop between Saturn and its rings. During the dive, the robotic spacecraft took hundreds of images showing unprecedented detail for structures in Saturn’s atmosphere. Looking back out, however, the spacecraft was also able to capture impressive vistas. In the featured image, taken a few hours before closest approach, Saturn’s unusual northern hexagon is seen surrounding the North Pole. Saturn’s B ring is the closest visible, while the dark Cassini Division separates B from the outer A. A close inspection will find the two small moons that shepherd the F-ring,…
2022年11月26日 Saturn at Night NASA, JPL-Caltech, Space Science Institute, Mindaugas Macijauskas Explanation: Saturn is still bright in planet Earth’s night skies. Telescopic views of the distant gas giant and its beautiful rings often make it a star at star parties. But this stunning view of Saturn’s rings and night side just isn’t possible from telescopes closer to the Sun than the outer planet. They can only bring Saturn’s day into view. In fact, this image of Saturn’s slender sunlit crescent with night’s shadow cast across its broad and complex ring system was captured by the Cassini spacecraft. A robot spacecraft from planet Earth, Cassini called Saturn orbit home for 13 years before it was directed to dive into the atmosphere of the gas giant on…
2022年9月23日 Ringed Ice Giant Neptune Image Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, NIRCam Explanation: Ringed, ice giant Neptune lies near the center of this sharp near-infrared image from the James Webb Space Telescope. The dim and distant world is the farthest planet from the Sun, about 30 times farther away than planet Earth. But in the stunning Webb view the planet’s dark and ghostly appearance is due to atmospheric methane that absorbs infrared light. High altitude clouds that reach above most of Neptune’s absorbing methane easily stand out in the image though. Coated with frozen nitrogen, Neptune’s largest moon Triton is brighter than Neptune in reflected sunlight and is seen at upper left sporting the Webb’s characteristic diffraction spikes. Including Triton, seven of Neptune’s 14 known…
2021年9月19日 Rings and Seasons of Saturn Image Credit & Copyright: Damian Peach/SEN Explanation: On Saturn, the rings tell you the season. On Earth, Wednesday marks an equinox, the time when the Earth’s equator tilts directly toward the Sun. Since Saturn’s grand rings orbit along the planet’s equator, these rings appear most prominent — from the direction of the Sun — when the spin axis of Saturn points toward the Sun. Conversely, when Saturn’s spin axis points to the side, an equinox occurs and the edge-on rings are hard to see from not only the Sun — but Earth. In the featured montage, images of Saturn between the years of 2004 and 2015 have been superposed to show the giant planet passing from southern summer toward…
2021年9月11日 Saturn at Night Image Credit: NASA, JPL-Caltech, Space Science Institute, Mindaugas Macijauskas Explanation: Still bright in planet Earth’s night skies, good telescopic views of Saturn and its beautiful rings often make it a star at star parties. But this stunning view of Saturn’s rings and night side just isn’t possible from telescopes closer to the Sun than the outer planet. They can only bring Saturn’s day into view. In fact, this image of Saturn’s slender sunlit crescent with night’s shadow cast across its broad and complex ring system was captured by the Cassini spacecraft. A robot spacecraft from planet Earth, Cassini called Saturn orbit home for 13 years before it was directed to dive into the atmosphere of the gas giant on September 15,…
