The Webb Space Telescope captured a stunning image of Uranus, with a bit of a twist: Here, the seventh planet from the sun is surrounded by prominent concentric rings.
Uranus has 13 dusty rings, 11 of which are visible in the web image. The rings are divided into two groups (internal and external system), which are named for a combination of Greek letters and numbers. The ring system is also visible, albeit more subdued, in Hubble footage of Uranus Taken in November 2014 and November 2022.
Every planet has its quirks, but Uranus stands out even among the misfits. It is an ice giant, thought to be composed mostly (80% or more) of glacial water, methane and ammonia surrounding a rocky core, According to NASA. Storm clouds dominate the sky, Although not as muddy as gas giant Jupiter. she has It is larger in diameter than Venus, another ice giant, but its mass is slightly smaller.
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Besides its rings, Uranus has such an extreme tilt relative to the solar system’s orbital plane that its north pole is currently pointing toward the sun. It also contains 27 moons (yes, even Uranus turns into a moon).
The planet has a polar cap – a large white spot – that seems to materialize only in summer, when it’s in direct sunlight. The polar cap will be facing up Earth in the year 2028, giving Webb and Hubble a chance to image the structure in more detail.
Webb’s new image comes from a 12-minute exposure taken on February 6, 2023, when the world was 1.83 billion miles from Earth. A wider field of view captures six moons: Bok, Ariel, Miranda, Umbryal, Titania and the outlying Oberon. (Uranus is unique in that it bears moons named for the works of Shakespeare and Alexander Pope, rather than the typical Greek or Roman designation.)
The inner moons are thought to be half water ice and half rock. Not much is known about the formation of exomoons. Background galaxies also appear in the wider image.
Uranus may finally be having its moment. Webb is set to make more observations of the planet, and scientists are demanding more observations custom task ice giant.
More: It’s time we finally got to Uranus