Using Webb’s near-infrared spectrograph, astronomers have captured new images of Neptune that finally reveal the planet’s mysterious auroral activity. Faint hints of Neptune’s auroras were first detected during Voyager 2’s flyby of the planet, but Webb’s latest discovery is the first direct evidence of the phenomenon.

Earth’s beautiful northern and southern lights are the result of auroras: when high-energy charged particles from the sun hit gases in our upper atmosphere, making them glow in brilliant colors as they release energy from the collision.