![\"Detections](\"https:\/\/cdn.sci.news\/images\/enlarge13\/image_14228e-Saturn.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nDetections of near-infrared emissions in Saturn\u2019s ionosphere (left) show dark bead-like features embedded within bright aurora; in the stratosphere (right), 500 km below, a lopsided star-pattern extends towards the equator. Image credit: NASA \/ ESA \/ CSA \/ Webb \/ Stallard et al.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis opportunity to use Webb was the first time we have ever been able to make such detailed near-infrared observations of Saturn\u2019s aurora and upper atmosphere. The results came as a complete surprise,\u201d said Northumbria University\u2019s Professor Tom Stallard.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe anticipated seeing emissions in broad bands at the various levels.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cInstead, we\u2019ve seen fine-scaled patterns of beads and stars that, despite being separated by huge distances in altitude, may somehow be interconnected \u2014 and may also be linked to the famous hexagon deeper in Saturn\u2019s clouds.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThese features were completely unexpected and, at present, are completely unexplained.\u201d<\/p>\n
The researchers focused on detecting infrared emissions by a positively charged molecular form of hydrogen, H3+, which plays a key role in reactions in Saturn\u2019s atmosphere and so can provide valuable insights into the chemical and physical processes at work.<\/p>\n
Webb\u2019s Near Infrared Spectrograph allowed the scientists to simultaneously observe H3+ ions from the ionosphere, 1,100 km above Saturn\u2019s nominal surface, and methane molecules in the underlying stratosphere, at an altitude of 600 km.<\/p>\n
In the electrically charged plasma of the ionosphere, they observed a series of dark, bead-like features embedded in bright auroral halos.<\/p>\n
These structures remained stable over hours but appeared to drift slowly over longer periods.<\/p>\n
Around 500 km lower, in Saturn\u2019s stratosphere, the team discovered an asymmetric star-shaped feature.<\/p>\n
This unusual structure extended out from Saturn\u2019s north pole towards the equator.<\/p>\n
Only four of the star\u2019s six arms were visible, with two mysteriously missing, creating a lopsided pattern.<\/p>\n
\u201cSaturn\u2019s upper atmosphere has proven incredibly difficult to study with missions and telescope facilities to date due to the extremely weak emissions from this region,\u201d Professor Stallard said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWebb\u2019s incredible sensitivity has revolutionized our ability to observe these atmospheric layers, revealing structures that are completely unlike anything we\u2019ve seen before on any planet.\u201d<\/p>\n
The authors mapped the exact locations of the features and found that they overlaid the same region of Saturn at different levels, with the star\u2019s arms appearing to emanate from positions directly above the points of the storm-cloud-level hexagon.<\/p>\n
This suggests that the processes that are driving the patterns may influence a column stretching right through Saturn\u2019s atmosphere.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe think that the dark beads may result from complex interactions between Saturn\u2019s magnetosphere and its rotating atmosphere, potentially providing new insights into the energy exchange that drives Saturn\u2019s aurora,\u201d Professor Stallard said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe asymmetric star pattern suggests previously unknown atmospheric processes operating in Saturn\u2019s stratosphere, possibly linked to the hexagonal storm pattern observed deeper in Saturn\u2019s atmosphere.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTantalizingly, the darkest beads in the ionosphere appear to line up with the strongest star-arm in the stratosphere, but it\u2019s not clear at this point whether they are actually linked or whether it\u2019s just a coincidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
While both features could have significant implications for understanding atmospheric dynamics on gas giant planets, more work is needed to provide explanations for the underlying causes.<\/p>\n
The team hopes that additional time may be granted in future to carry out follow-up observations of Saturn with Webb to further explore the features.<\/p>\n
With the planet at its equinox, which occurs approximately every 15 Earth years, the structures may change dramatically as Saturn\u2019s orientation to the Sun shifts and the northern hemisphere moves into autumn.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince neither atmospheric layer can be observed using ground-based telescopes, the need for follow-up Webb observations during this key time of seasonal change on Saturn is pressing,\u201d said Professor Stallard, lead author of a paper<\/a> published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.<\/p>\n The authors also presented the results<\/a> this month at the EPSC-DPS2025 Joint Meeting<\/a> in Helsinki, Finland.<\/p>\n _____<\/p>\n Tom S. Stallard et al. 2025. JWST\/NIRSpec Detection of Complex Structures in Saturn\u2019s Sub-Auroral Ionosphere and Stratosphere. Geophysical Research Letters 52 (17): e2025GL116491; doi: 10.1029\/2025GL116491<\/p>\n Tom S. Stallard et al. 2025. JWST\u2019s transformational observations of Giant Planet ionospheres. EPSC Abstracts 18: EPSC-DPS2025-817; doi: 10.5194\/epsc-dps2025-1438<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Astronomers using the NASA\/ESA James Webb Space Telescope have detected a series of dark, bead-like and asymmetric star-shaped…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":31539,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[10803,4286,10804,10805,25260,61,25261,60,91,23190,3627,82,3630,25262,5623],"class_list":{"0":"post-31538","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-science","8":"tag-atmosphere","9":"tag-aurora","10":"tag-csa","11":"tag-esa","12":"tag-gas-giant","13":"tag-ie","14":"tag-ionosphere","15":"tag-ireland","16":"tag-nasa","17":"tag-planet","18":"tag-saturn","19":"tag-science","20":"tag-solar-system","21":"tag-stratosphere","22":"tag-webb"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31538","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31538"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31538\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31539"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31538"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31538"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31538"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}