Neptune's rings shine bright in space telescope photos


Ramola Talwar Badam
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The glowing rings encircling Neptune and moons that orbit the distant planet have been captured by Nasa’s James Webb Space Telescope.

Scientists describe the stunning images as the clearest taken in 30 years of the rings around the solar system’s outermost planet.

Nasa released the images showing several bright, thin rings and Neptune’s faint dust bands never before taken by infrared camera.

These infrared waves can pass through dense gas and dust and reveal objects in the universe that cannot otherwise be seen in visible light, even by powerful telescopes.

The Webb telescope shows seven of Neptune's 14 known moons, with the large moon Triton expelling an almost-blinding radiance.

The dramatic photos shine a light on a dark region of the outer solar system.

Such a clear view has not been witnessed since Nasa’s Voyager 2, the first spacecraft to observe Neptune during a 1989 fly-past.

“It has been three decades since we last saw these faint, dusty rings and this is the first time we have seen them in infrared,” said Heidi Hammel, a planetary astronomer working with the Webb telescope.

The scientist, who has studied the solar system's outer planets, rings, and moons, tweeted that she was moved to tears when she first saw the images.

The dazzling beams of Triton overshadow the light of Neptune’s six other visible moons — Galatea, Naiad, Thalassa, Despina, Proteus and Larissa.

Discovered in 1846, Neptune is called the icy planet and is located 30 times farther from the Sun than Earth.

Both Uranus and Neptune are known as ice giants, as their interior is different in composition from the gas giants Jupiter and Saturn, which are richer in hydrogen and helium.

Neptune and Uranus are among the least explored and scientists will use the Webb to study the chemistry, weather and circulation patterns.

Scientists said a thin line of brightness circling the planet’s equator could be a visual representation of the global atmospheric circulation that powers Neptune’s winds and storms.

The atmosphere descends, warms at the equator and glows at infrared wavelengths more than the surrounding, cooler gases.

Triton outshines Neptune in the image, as it is covered in a frozen sheen of condensed nitrogen and reflects an average of 70 per cent of the sunlight that hits it.

The precision quality of the $10 billion Webb telescope draws out the detail and clarity of the rings.

The world’s most powerful telescope operates about 1.6 million kilometres from Earth.

Launched on Christmas Day last year, the telescope aims to explore the origins of the universe, probe faraway worlds around the stars, and search for life by studying the chemical composition of the atmosphere of the planets.

Nasa said the Webb was in “good health” but reported a technical issue with one of the instruments, causing the space agency to pause one of four observation modes.

A mechanism on the observatory’s infrared instrument experienced technical issues.

The space observatory programme is led by Nasa with the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency as partners.

James Webb space telescopes shows glittering galaxies - in pictures

Uefa Nations League: How it works

The Uefa Nations League, introduced last year, has reached its final stage, to be played over five days in northern Portugal. The format of its closing tournament is compact, spread over two semi-finals, with the first, Portugal versus Switzerland in Porto on Wednesday evening, and the second, England against the Netherlands, in Guimaraes, on Thursday.

The winners of each semi will then meet at Porto’s Dragao stadium on Sunday, with the losing semi-finalists contesting a third-place play-off in Guimaraes earlier that day.

Qualifying for the final stage was via League A of the inaugural Nations League, in which the top 12 European countries according to Uefa's co-efficient seeding system were divided into four groups, the teams playing each other twice between September and November. Portugal, who finished above Italy and Poland, successfully bid to host the finals.

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  • Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
  • Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
  • Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
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Billie Holliday: for the burn and also the way she told stories.  

Thelonius Monk: for his earnestness.

Duke Ellington: for his edge and spirituality.

Louis Armstrong: his legacy is undeniable. He is considered as one of the most revolutionary and influential musicians.

Terence Blanchard: very political - a lot of jazz musicians are making protest music right now.

Frankenstein in Baghdad
Ahmed Saadawi
​​​​​​​Penguin Press

Timeline

2012-2015

The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East

May 2017

The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts

September 2021

Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act

October 2021

Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence 

December 2024

Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group

May 2025

The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan

July 2025

The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan

August 2025

Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision

October 2025

Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange

November 2025

180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE

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Stars: Will Smith, Tom Holland, Karen Gillan and Roshida Jones 

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Shahad Al Rawi, Oneworld

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Updated: September 22, 2022, 9:31 AM