Neptune Aurorae First Image Since Voyager 2 @NASAWebbTelescope

Uploaded June 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago

Welcome to the club, Neptune!

Webb has captured auroras on Neptune, confirming their presence for the first time, making the planet the last gas giant in our solar system to have confirmed aurorae. Dr. Heidi Hammel was part of the team imaging Neptune with Voyager 2 in 1989. Let’s hear her reaction to the Webb imagery, which was combined with that of Hubble for a more complete picture.

Credit: NASA/Karly Noetzel

Neptune Aurorae First Image Since Voyager 2

Behind the Webb: The MIRI Has Two Faces (Episode 14, February 2012)

$Webb Telescope Data, Translated to Sound — Cosmic Cliffs: Stars Experience the first full-color images and data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope in a brand new way. A near-infrared image of the Cosmic Cliffs in the Carina Nebula, captured by NASA’s Webb Telescope, has been mapped to a symphony of sounds to create a data sonification. This video plays only the notes that represent stars in the image. All stars are represented by a combination of pitches and processed piano notes, but the brightest stars with longer diffraction spikes also carry crashes and clangs from cymbals. Sonifications support blind and low-vision listeners first, but are designed to be captivating to anyone who tunes in. This sonification, which scans the image from left to right, was adapted to a video to allow sighted viewers to watch as a vertical line moves across the frame. Brighter light in the image is louder. The vertical position of light also dictates the frequency of sound. For example, bright light near the top of the image sounds loud and high, but bright light near the bottom is loud and lower pitched. This sonification does not represent sounds recorded in space. Two musicians mapped the telescope’s data to sound, carefully composing music to accurately represent details the team would like listeners to focus on. In a way, this sonification is like modern dance or an impressionist painting – it converts Webb’s image to a new medium to engage and inspire listeners. Learn more: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2022/nasa-webb-s-first-full-color-images-data-are-set-to-sound Also listen to: 1. The full sonification: https://youtu.be/j9shIxS-W-8 2. The top of the image: https://youtu.be/ZjJpJwVEe2A 3. The lower half of the image: https://youtu.be/W-MUP2TbsWo Want more Webb sonifications? Check out the Southern Ring Nebula sonifications (https://youtu.be/La9DB-bcy5Y), and the WASP-96 b sonification (https://youtu.be/vqa94WD6smc). Credits: Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI; Accessibility Production: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, and Kimberly Arcand (CXC/SAO), Matt Russo and Andrew Santaguida (SYSTEM Sounds), Quyen Hart (STScI), Claire Blome (STScI), and Christine Malec (consultant).$

Webb Telescope Data, Translated to Sound — Southern Ring Nebula

NASA’s Webb Reaches Alignment Milestone, Optics Working Successfully

James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) |

Neptune Aurorae First Image Since Voyager 2