International
Neptune’s delicate rings captured in new Webb image
AFP | by Daniel Lawler
The James Webb Space Telescope has turned its gaze away from the deep universe towards our home Solar System, capturing an image of a luminous Neptune and its delicate, dusty rings in detail not seen in decades, NASA said Wednesday.
The last time astronomers had such a clear view of the farthest planet from the Sun was when NASA’s Voyager 2 became the first and only space probe to fly past the ice giant for just a few hours in 1989.
Now Webb’s unprecedented infrared imaging capabilities has provided a new glimpse into Neptune’s atmosphere, said Mark McCaughrean, a senior advisor for science and exploration at the European Space Agency.
The telescope “takes all that glare and background away” so that “we can start to tease out the atmospheric composition” of the planet, McCaughrean, who has worked on the Webb project for more than 20 years, told AFP.
Neptune appears as deep blue in previous images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope due to methane in its atmosphere.
However the near-infrared wavelengths captured by Webb’s primary imager NIRCam shows the planet as a greyish white, with icy clouds streaking the surface.
“The rings are more reflective in the infrared,” McCaughrean said, “so they’re much easier to see”.
The image also shows an “intriguing brightness” near the top of Neptune, NASA said in a statement. Because the planet is tilted away from Earth and takes 164 years to orbit the Sun, astronomers have not yet had a good look at its north pole.
Webb also spotted seven of Neptune’s 14 known moons.
Strange moon
Looming over Neptune in a zoomed-out image is what appears to be a very bright spiky star, but is in fact Triton, Neptune’s strange, huge moon haloed with Webb’s famed diffraction spikes.
Triton, which is larger than dwarf planet Pluto, appears brighter than Neptune because it is covered in ice, which reflects light. Neptune meanwhile “absorbs most of the light falling on it”, McCaughrean said.
Because Triton orbits the wrong way around Neptune, it is believed to have once been an object from the nearby Kuiper belt which was captured in the planet’s orbit.
“So it’s a pretty cool to go and have a look at,” said McCaughrean.
As astronomers sweep the universe searching for other planets like our own, they have found that ice giants such as Neptune and Uranus are the most common in the Milky Way.
“By being able to look at these ones in great detail, we can key into our observations of other” ice giants,” McCaughrean said.
Operational since July, Webb is the most powerful space telescope ever built, and has already unleashed a raft of unprecedented data. Scientists are hopeful it will herald a new era of discovery.
Research based on Webb’s observations of both Neptune and Triton is expected in the next year.
“The kind of astronomy we’re seeing now was unimaginable five years ago,” McCaughrean said.
“Of course, we knew that it would do this, we built it to do this, it is exactly the machine we designed.
“But to suddenly start seeing things in these longer wavelengths, which were impossible before… it’s just absolutely remarkable.”
International
Colombia Earthquake Leaves at Least 22 Dead as Rescue Efforts Continue
At least 22 people were killed and dozens more were affected by a magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck Colombia on Monday, with the epicenter located near the municipality of San José del Palmar in the northwestern department of Chocó, authorities reported in a preliminary assessment.
The city of Pereira has so far recorded the highest number of fatalities. Mayor Mauricio Salazar told local media that 18 people had died in the city and warned that a large number of buildings had been damaged.
“The situation is critical, and we are moving forward with assessments while assisting people who remain trapped,” Salazar said.
Authorities in Manizales reported two additional deaths, while two more fatalities were confirmed in the department of Valle del Cauca. Several people were also injured, and structural damage was reported in different communities.
“We are just beginning to establish radio communication with the hospitals. We know that we have three injured people in El Cairo, two deaths in Zarzal, the collapse of an academic structure in Calima Darién, and minor structural damage in Cali,” said María Cristina Lesmes, Valle del Cauca’s health secretary.
Emergency teams were continuing rescue and assessment operations as authorities worked to determine the full extent of the damage and update the number of casualties.
International
Record 230 Migrants Cross English Channel to UK in Single Boat
A record 230 migrants crossed the English Channel overnight Sunday aboard a small inflatable boat bound for the United Kingdom, according to French maritime rescue services and British media, highlighting the growing number of people being packed onto vessels attempting the dangerous crossing.
More than 20 children were among those aboard the inflatable boat when it departed from the northeastern French coast on Sunday night amid chaotic scenes, France’s maritime rescue service SNSM said in an online statement.
The figure surpasses the previous record for the number of people aboard a single boat, set last month when 165 migrants successfully crossed the busy maritime route.
The latest incident comes just days after an inflatable boat carrying more than 150 people capsized in the Channel after its engine caught fire, triggering a major search-and-rescue operation.
Britain’s Home Office did not confirm the exact number of people aboard Sunday’s vessel but condemned what it described as the “reckless and dangerous tactics” used by criminal gangs facilitating the crossings.
A spokesperson for Prime Minister Andy Burnham described images of the operation as “shocking,” particularly those showing very young children being placed aboard boats that were not suitable for the journey.
The United Kingdom has spent years attempting to curb these dangerous and politically sensitive Channel crossings. Tens of thousands of migrants have reached the southeastern English coast annually in recent years, keeping the issue at the center of the country’s immigration debate.
International
Joe Biden’s Prostate Cancer Has Spread to His Bones, Son Hunter Reveals
Former U.S. President Joe Biden’s prostate cancer has worsened and spread to his bones and other parts of his body, his son Hunter Biden revealed in a recent interview with the BBC.
Biden disclosed in May 2025, just four months after leaving office as the oldest sitting U.S. president in history, that he had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer that had already spread to his bones.
The former president subsequently began treatment, including radiation and hormone therapy. In July, while announcing the publication of his memoirs, Biden said the treatment was going “really well.”
However, in an extensive interview broadcast Friday night on the BBC’s Newsnight, Hunter Biden said his father’s condition had progressed despite treatment.
“The cancer has spread and metastasized to his bones and other places,” Hunter Biden said.
He added that the illness has been “very painful” and, in many ways, “very debilitating,” but said his father continues to remain active.
“He’s still out there. He’s still doing his thing,” Hunter Biden said, emphasizing that his father remains deeply committed to the United States.
The former president’s diagnosis has remained a subject of public attention since it was first announced, particularly because of his age and his decision to continue a public life after leaving the White House.
Colombia Earthquake Leaves at Least 22 Dead as Rescue Efforts Continue
Record 230 Migrants Cross English Channel to UK in Single Boat
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