Uranus showing all its rings and 9 of the planet’s 27 moons
NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI
This amazing shot of Uranus taken by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) gives us the most complete view of Uranus yet, revealing its rings and turbulent atmosphere in stunning detail .
In April, JWST used infrared sensors to image Uranus, revealing more of the ice giant’s rock and dust rings, which have only been directly imaged twice before, by the Voyager 2 spacecraft and by Earth’s Keck Observatory. Now it can be observed clearly. Eleven of Uranus’s 13 known rings were visible in this image, but the last two were too dark to see.
JWST has now followed up on these observations using a wider field of view and more wavelengths of infrared light, revealing the rings in even more detail and showing us the elusive final two rings.
The diagram above also shows nine of Uranus’ 27 moons. These are all tilted away from the Sun at her 98 degree angle, the same as the planet itself. Another new image from JWST below shows five more moons (Oberon, Umbriel, Ariel, Miranda, and Titania) shining like blue stars, bringing the total shown to 14.
This JWST photo of Uranus shows five more moons, shining like blue stars around the planet. They are (clockwise from top) Oberon, Umbriel, Ariel, Miranda, and Titania.
STScI Copyright: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI
The planet’s tilt causes long stretches of sunlight and darkness on different sides of Uranus, with each season lasting 21 Earth years and producing polar caps and atmospheric storms. Both can be seen more clearly in this picture. The storm lies just below the southern edge of the broad white polar cap, appearing as a white wisp against a blue background.
Although it takes Uranus 84 years to orbit the Sun, it only takes 17 hours to complete its rotation, allowing its atmosphere and moons to travel faster than standard telescopic exposures. Astronomers created the image above by combining long and short exposure times with JWST to smooth out the changing features.
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Source: www.newscientist.com
