Saturn Just Got Weirder: Webb Finds Beads & Stars in Its Atmosphere

Saturn Just Got Weirder: Webb Finds Beads & Stars in Its Atmosphere

The James Webb Space Telescope has revealed something completely unexpected in Saturn’s atmosphere. In a 2024 observation, Webb detected dark bead-like structures in the auroras and a strange four-armed star-shaped pattern in the stratosphere. These features don’t resemble anything seen before on Saturn — or any other planet. Could they be linked to Saturn’s famous hexagon, or do they represent an entirely new atmospheric process? In this short, we break down what Webb saw and why it matters for planetary science.
Credit to : NASA Space News