We Have Our First Look at Neptune's Rings in 33 Years, And They're Glorious - ScienceAlert

"It has been three decades since we last saw those faint, dusty bands, and this is the first time we've seen them in the infrared," astronomer Heidi Hammel, an interdisciplinary scientist on the JWST team who specializes in Neptune, said today (Sept. 21) in a news release.

In visible-light pictures, Neptune shows up as a deep blue dot, thanks to the methane in its atmosphere.

There's also a thin line of brightness at the equator, which the JWST team says could be a visual signature of the global atmospheric circulation that powers Neptune's winds and storms.

Last month, astronomers unveiled the telescope's first pictures of Jupiter as well as its polar auroras and faint rings.