Saturn seen in complementary detail by NASA's Webb and Hubble

NASA's James Webb and Hubble telescopes captured coordinated 2024 images of Saturn in different wavelengths, enabling comparison of atmospheric layers and ring features.

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope and the Hubble Space Telescope captured coordinated images of Saturn in 2024 that highlight different features when seen in different wavelengths. Hubble's visible-light monitoring shows subtle color variations and continues a decades-long record through the OPAL program. Webb's infrared view reveals clouds and chemicals at multiple depths and was taken a few months after Hubble using Director's Discretionary Time. Together, the two observatories offer complementary perspectives that build on data from the Cassini mission. Key observations: - The Hubble image was taken as part of the OPAL monitoring program in August 2024; Webb's image was captured about 14 weeks later under Director's Discretionary Time. - Hubble senses sunlight reflected by Saturn's clouds and hazes and shows subtle color differences; Webb's infrared observations sense clouds and atmospheric chemicals at different depths. - Webb's image shows a long-lived northern jet stream called the "ribbon wave," a small spot that is a remnant of the 2010–2012 Great Springtime Storm, and several storms in the southern hemisphere. - Several pointed edges of Saturn's north-polar hexagon are faintly visible in both images; high-resolution views of the hexagon are likely to be limited until the 2040s as the northern pole moves into a 15-year winter darkness. - In Webb's infrared data, the poles appear grey-green at wavelengths near 4.3 microns; this feature is reported as possibly caused by a layer of high-altitude aerosols or by auroral emissions from charged particles. - Saturn's rings appear extremely bright in Webb's infrared because of reflective water ice; subtle ring structures such as spokes and B-ring features differ between the two telescopes, and the F ring looks thin and crisp in Webb while it only slightly glows in Hubble. Summary: The combined Hubble and Webb observations provide a more layered, three-dimensional view of Saturn's atmosphere and rings and complement earlier Cassini findings. Hubble's long-term OPAL record and Webb's infrared capabilities extend what scientists can measure about storms, banding, and seasonal changes. Continued coordinated observations are reported as planned as Saturn moves from northern summer toward the 2025 equinox, improving views of the southern hemisphere over time.