NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has captured sparking new images of Uranus and its dramatic rings. The seventh planet from the Sun actually rotates on its side at roughly a 90° angle from the plane of its orbit, resulting in extreme seasons since its poles experience many years of constant sunlight followed by an equal number of years of complete darkness.
Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) was used to capture this image, which combines data from two filters at 1.4 and 3.0 microns, and the planet shows up as a blue hue in the resulting representative-color image. Voyager 2’s camera observed the planet as a featureless blue-green ball in visible wavelengths, but with Webb’s infrared wavelengths and extra sensitivity we get to see just how dynamic the atmosphere of Uranus really is.
- BRIGHT, SHARP VIEWS ANYWHERE: Unlike many beginner telescopes, this quality refractor features fully coated glass lenses and a 70mm aperture for...
- PERFECT FIRST TELESCOPE FOR BEGINNERS: Designed for adults and kids to enjoy together, this beginner-friendly telescope sets up in minutes and...
- EASY NO-TOOL SETUP: No complicated assembly or tools needed. The full-height tripod and telescope tube set up in seconds and pack neatly into the...
Webb also captured many of Uranus’s 27 known moons (most of which are too small and faint to be seen here); the six brightest are identified in the wide-view image. This was only a short (12-minute) exposure image of Uranus with just two filters. It is just the tip of the iceberg of what Webb can do when observing this mysterious planet. Additional studies of Uranus are happening now, and more are planned in Webb’s first year of science operations,” said the ESA.
