NASA’s Webb telescope scores another ringed world with new images of Uranus

(Gray News/TMX) - NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has captured an image of Uranus that shows even its faintest rings, previously only imaged by the Voyager 2 spacecraft as it flew by in 1986 and the Keck Observatory.

“Uranus has never looked better. Really,” NASA wrote in a tweet.

The new image from Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera combines data from two filters to reveal detailed features including a bright area at the ice giant’s polar cap, which faces the sun.

According to NASA, the polar cap mysteriously appears when the pole enters direct sunlight in the summer and vanishes in the fall.

Uranus is unique in that it rotates on its side, at an approximately 90-degree angle from its orbital plane.

Webb also revealed a “surprising” brightening at the center of the cap. According to researchers, bright clouds seen on the surface are likely connected to storm activity.

Webb also captured many of Uranus’ 27 moons, though only the brightest are visible in the image.

Eleven of the planet’s 13 known rings are visible in the image, though some are so bright they appear to merge. Scientists said they believe future Webb images will reveal the two faint outer rings discovered with Hubble in 2007.

“This was only a short, 12-minute exposure image of Uranus with just two filters,” NASA said in a statement. “It is just the tip of the iceberg of what Webb can do when observing this mysterious planet.”