The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has taken a dramatic new image of Uranus and its dazzling rings.
Appearing almost as a glassy blue marble, the ice giant was captured by the telescope’s near-infrared camera. Eleven of its 13 rings are visible.
Uranus, the seventh planet from the Sun, is unique in our solar system in that it rotates on its side at an almost 90-degree angle – meaning its poles are where Earth’s equator lies. This results in one side of the planet facing the Sun for years at a time as it completes its 84-year orbit, and the other facing the inky darkness of space.
At the moment it is late spring for the northern pole, with summer arriving in 2028. When Voyager 2 flew past Uranus in 1986 it was summer at the south pole.
Scientists will use data from the JWST to help explain the planet’s mysterious polar cap phenomenon, which is visible in the new image as the area of brightening at the pole. As Uranus enters direct sunlight in late spring and summer the polar cap appears, before fading away in the autumn.
The two bright spots – one on the edge of the polar cap and the other on the left edge of the planet – are clouds, likely connected to storm activity.
Beyond that lie the planet’s rings. While it may appear that only five or six are visible to the naked eye, as brighter rings can appear to merge together, not only are 11 captured, but Nasa scientists expect to be able to see all 13 in future JWST images.
A second image released shows several of Uranus’s 27 known moons, including the six brightest – Umbriel, Ariel, Puck, Miranda, Titania and Oberon.
Last month scientists revealed one or two of the moons, Miranda and/or Ariel, could have active oceans hidden beneath their surface – and are shooting material into space.
In September Nasa released a similarly stunning image of Neptune taken by the JWST.
There is growing momentum among the scientific community for a return voyage to the solar system’s outer planets. Last year the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine identified Uranus science as a priority, while a panel of key scientists has recommended Nasa’s next planetary mission should be a return to the turquoise giant – costing up to $4.2billion. Nasa has yet to confirm if it will take on the project.
MORE : There could be active oceans on at least two of Uranus’s many moons
MORE : Neptune’s elusive rings pictured by the James Webb Space Telescope
