The James Webb Space Telescope has spied clouds on one of the solar system’s most intriguing moons.
Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more. In November, the space observatory turned its infrared gaze on Saturn’s largest moon, Titan. It’s the only moon in our solar system that has a dense atmosphere — four times denser than Earth’s. Titan’s atmosphere is made of nitrogen and methane, which gives it a fuzzy, orange appearance.
Keck Observatory in Hawaii to see if follow-up observations could reveal if the clouds were moving or changing shape. “We were concerned that the clouds would be gone when we looked at Titan two days later with Keck, but to our delight there were clouds at the same positions, looking like they had changed in shape,” said Imke de Pater, emeritus professor of astronomy at the University of California, Berkeley, and lead of the Keck Titan Observing Team, in a statement.
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James Webb Space Telescope view of Saturn's weirdest moon Titan thrills scientistsMeghan is a senior writer at Space.com and has more than five years' experience as a science journalist based in New York City. She joined Space.com in July 2018, with previous writing published in outlets including Newsweek and Audubon. Meghan earned an MA in science journalism from New York University and a BA in classics from Georgetown University, and in her free time she enjoys reading and visiting museums. Follow her on Twitter at meghanbartels.
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