File:NASA’s Webb Telescope Will Survey Saturn and its Moon Titan (51147837480).jpg

There is still a lot to learn about Saturn, especially about the planet’s unique weather and chemistry, as well as the origin of its opulent ring system. After its launch in 2021, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope will observe Saturn, its rings, and family of moons as part of a comprehensive solar system program.

This study will be conducted through a Guaranteed Time Observations program headed up by Heidi Hammel, a planetary astronomer and executive vice president of the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) in Washington, D.C. Hammel was selected by NASA as a Webb Interdisciplinary Scientist in 2002.

“The purpose of this program is to demonstrate the capabilities of Webb for solar system observations, including observing bright objects, tracking moving objects, and spotting faint targets next to bright ones,” Hammel explained. “The data will be made available to the solar system community as soon as possible to show them that Webb can do what we’ve promised them.”

Webb will pick up where NASA’s Cassini spacecraft left off. Cassini orbited Saturn for 13 years, from 2004 until the mission ended in 2017 when the spacecraft plunged into Saturn’s atmosphere. Since then, programs like the Hubble Space Telescope’s Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy program and ground-based measurements have been the only way to monitor Saturn.

Read more: www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2019/nasa-s-webb-telescope-w...

Image: This image shows a giant Saturnian storm that was observed at mid-infrared wavelengths by the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope in 2011. The warm gases powering the storm make it glow brightly compared to the rest of the planet.

Credits: L. Fletcher (University of Leicester) and ESO

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