Science
James Webb Telescope Unveils Uranus’s Hidden Features In Striking Infrared Photo
NASA has taken several incredible images from space over the years, demonstrating the true beauty of the universe.
Consider these distinctive features of Iapetus, Saturn’s moon, as the ideal illustration.
Or how about a spooky photo that the “most isolated man in the universe” allegedly took?
I could spend hours scrolling through these pictures since they have a way of engrossing you.
I’m not the only one; two breathtaking images of Uranus taken by NASA have gone viral after being re-shared on social media.
On December 25, 2021, the US government launched the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), which has completely changed the way we view our galaxy.
These September 2023 images of Uranus demonstrate that few of us truly understand its appearance.
Now that you’ve stopped laughing, a Reddit member by the name of PrinceofUranus0 shared the breathtaking images with the R/SpacePorn forum.
The bright blue planet is visible in a wide-field shot surrounded by a scattering of far-off background galaxies against the black of space.
Uranus shines through its 13 outer rings, and about 14 of its 28 moons are visible.
The second image, a close-up of the planet four times wider than Earth, provides a clearer view of its weak inner and outer rings, including the elusive Zeta ring, which NASA describes as the “extremely faint and diffuse ring closest to the planet.”
Reddit users agree that it is very stunning.
One person commented, “I will never not be amazed seeing these. JWST can’t help but picture galaxies everywhere,” as a second agreed, “This is insane. The mix of stars from our own galaxy with deep space galaxies off in the distance and Uranus popping in the middle.”
A third admitted, “Both shots are mind blowing. I had zero clue this is what Uranus looked like. I’m still having trouble processing that this is a real picture.”
A fourth penned: “That’s the best picture of Uranus I’ve ever seen! Such a gorgeous planet.”
In the 1980s, the planet was detected by Voyager 2’s visible wavelengths and revealed as a ‘placid, solid blue ball’.
However, NASA claims that the infrared wavelengths from JWST show a “strange and dynamic ice world filled by exciting atmospheric features.”
In these JWST images, for instance, the planet is depicted with a north polar cloud cap, and a number of brilliant storms are visible below and close to the polar cap’s southern edge.
According to NASA, as the planet gets closer to the solstice and receives more sunlight, the polar cap seems to grow more noticeable as the pole starts to point towards the Sun.
Astronomers are keen to see any changes in the structure of these intriguing characteristics as Uranus approaches its next solstice in 2028.
The more you understand!
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