The James Webb telescope made it possible to see clouds on Titan, Saturn's moon

Observing clouds has always helped scientists learn more about the planet's atmosphere. And this is true not only for the Earth, but also for Titan, the only satellite in the solar system with a dense atmosphere. Recently, astronomers managed to take two pictures of this moon, proving the movement of cloud masses.

The first image was taken with the latest James Webb telescope. Sebastian Rodriguez, a planetary scientist at the University of Paris-Cite, wrote in an email to the Titan Observation Team at NASA's Goddard Space Center:

Goddard's team was thrilled to see the clouds, but Webb only showed a one-shot image. To really understand how Titan's atmosphere works, the researchers needed a few shots to confirm that the clouds change shape. Therefore, scientists turned to colleagues from the Keck Observatory in Hawaii.

Luckily, the clouds hadn't cleared by the time Keck's team made their observations a couple of days later. Their frame was different, but consistent with the theory of astronomers: cloud A is probably rotating in the field of view, while cloud B is either dissipating or moving towards the hemisphere facing away us

Titan's atmosphere is rich in nitrogen and methane and extends 600 kilometers into space, 10 times the height of Earth's atmosphere. At its outer edges, solar radiation breaks up methane and nitrogen molecules, and the remaining parts recombine into large organic molecules that create a very thick fog.

This haze blocks visible light, making it difficult to see Titan. Fortunately, James Webb's infrared cameras will be able to provide scientists with unprecedented views of the lower atmosphere and even the surface of the satellite.

Scientists believe the haze hides vast fields of dunes, as well as lakes, seas, and rivers of liquid hydrocarbons such as methane and ethane. And deep below the moon's surface, there could be an ocean of salty liquid water, making Titan a candidate for potential life beyond Earth.

Using data from the James Webb Near Infrared Spectrograph, scientists will soon be able to study the composition of Titan's lower atmosphere, which cannot be observed with ground-based telescopes such as Kek.