Why Is Neptune Glowing Like This?

  • Released Tuesday, May 20, 2025
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Neptune is glowing—and it’s not what we expected.
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope just spotted auroras stretching across Neptune’s mid-latitudes—not the poles. Why?

The planet’s bizarre magnetic field and a shockingly cold upper atmosphere may hold the answer.

These new findings are rewriting what we know about the solar system’s most distant planet.

Watch to see how Webb is revealing Neptune in a whole new light.

For more information, visit https://nasa.gov/webb

Credit:
Producer: Paul Morris
Writer: Thaddeus Cesari
Narrator: Dr. Quyen Hart
Images: NASA, ESA, CSA, STSci

Music Credit:
"Float On" by Layla Pavey [PRS] and Samuel John Chase [PRS] via Zone Music Ltd [PRS] and Universal Production Music

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Credits

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. However, please credit individual items as indicated above.

Release date

This page was originally published on Tuesday, May 20, 2025.
This page was last updated on Wednesday, May 14, 2025 at 2:50 PM EDT.


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