Saturn's atmosphere revealed in most comprehensive views from Webb and Hubble

Paired images from Hubble (August 2024) and the James Webb Space Telescope (November 2024) give researchers a layered view of Saturn's atmosphere, revealing features from pale-yellow bands and bright rings to infrared details such as rings that glow blue and gray-green polar emissions at about 4.3 microns.

New paired observations from the Hubble and James Webb space telescopes provide a multiwavelength view of Saturn's atmosphere. The images cut through clouds at different heights and reveal winds, long-lived storms, and layered aerosol features. NASA described the result as the most comprehensive view of Saturn to date. The pictures also capture the planet's north-polar hexagon as the pole moves toward an extended period of winter darkness. Key observations: - Hubble recorded a visible-light image in August 2024 as part of the Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy program, which tracks the outer planets annually. - The James Webb Space Telescope took an infrared image in November 2024; the two observations were made about 14 weeks apart as Saturn shifted from northern summer toward its 2025 equinox. - In visible light, Hubble showed Saturn's pale-yellow bands and bright white rings, while JWST's infrared view revealed additional structure and contrast. - JWST's infrared image made the rings appear to glow blue because they are composed of highly reflective water ice, according to NASA. - Saturn's poles emitted light near 4.3 microns and appeared gray-green in the infrared; NASA said these emissions could come from light scattering off high-altitude aerosols or from auroras. - The faint edges of the six-sided north-polar jet stream known as the hexagon appear in both images; these may be among the last high-resolution views of that feature until the 2040s as the north pole enters about 15 years of winter darkness. Summary: These complementary images allow researchers to "slice" through Saturn's atmosphere and examine storms, winds, and layered aerosols, which contributes to study of how the planet's weather operates and how it evolved over time. Both Hubble and Webb will continue observing Saturn as the planet tilts toward southern spring, which could reveal further atmospheric changes. Observations made now are notable because high-resolution views of the north-polar hexagon may be limited during the coming years.