2023-12-18 20:08:58
by Paolo Virtuani
Sharp details of the rings (like Saturn) and many satellites as never seen before
Uranus as we have never seen it, not even with the close-up images taken in January 1986 with the passage of the Voyager 2 probe. The third largest planet in the Solar System was observed by the James Webb Space Telescope last September 4 and now NASA released the photos after identifying all the structures in detail.
The internal satellites
The shot was taken in a favorable condition: the planet’s rotation axis is inclined by 98 degrees and in this period it turns its North Pole towards the Sun, so it is as if we were seeing it from above the pole. Eleven of the thirteen rings surrounding the planet, like those of Saturn, can be clearly seen, including the two very distant and very faint ones, almost invisible in normal conditions. Furthermore, nine satellites can be seen circling the frozen gas giant in low orbit: from the right (at 2 o’clock) Rosalind, Puck, Belinda, Desdemona, Cressida, Bianca, Portia, Juliet and Perdita.
External satellites
But by broadening the field of observation, the major satellites also appear, which have been known for centuries: Oberon, Umbriel, Ariel, Miranda and the largest, Titania. You can also notice the cloud covering the north pole of the planet. A truly extraordinary photo that closes a year in which the James Webb telescope has provided us with stunning images of the Universe that are also changing astronomy.
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December 18, 2023 (modified December 18, 2023 | 8:36 pm)
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