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Jan 26, 2024

Webb Captures Uranus and Its Glorious Rings in Unprecedented Detail!

Our solar system is home to some truly awe-inspiring sights, but perhaps the

Our solar system is home to some truly awe-inspiring sights, but perhaps the most breathtaking of them all are the rings that encircle certain planets. And while Saturn is the first ringed world that springs to most minds, it must now brace for competition, for a new contender is set to dominate the news in the days to come!

In yet another stunning release, the James Webb Space Telescope has dropped some breathtaking images of Uranus and its dramatic rings!

This ice giant possesses 13 known rings, of which 11 are visible in this captivating capture. However, some of them are so brilliantly bright that they appear merged into one another.

The glowy area visible on the right side of the planet is a brightened pole facing the Sun, known as a polar cap. Interestingly, Uranus rotates on its side at a nearly 90-degree angle from the plane of its orbit. This causes its poles to experience many years of constant sunlight, followed by an equal number of years of complete darkness.

It is worth noting that the subtly enhanced brightening at the centre of the polar cap is a feature that has been revealed by Webb for the first time ever, thanks to NIRCam's ability to see longer wavelengths.

Webb also managed to capture many of Uranus's 27 known moons. While most of them are too small and faint to be seen here, the six brightest ones can be observed in the following wide-view image.

Back in 1986, Voyager 2 had photographed Uranus merely as a featureless blue-green ball at visible wavelengths. But Webb, with its greater sensitivity and infrared wavelength detection, has only now managed to capture the true beauty of this planet's dynamic atmosphere and surrounding rings.

In future observations, scientists expect Webb to shed more light on Uranus' two faint outer rings, which were discovered by Hubble as recently as 2007.

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