James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has been capturing mesmerising images from space and it has yet again taken a jaw-dropping picture of Uranus showing its ring, luminous moons and atmosphere, said European Space Agency (ESA) in its explanation about the treasure trove.
Last year, a similar photo of Neptune was also captured by the JWST.
In the released image, 11 of the 13 rings can be seen with such brightness that they appear single, with the planet’s luminous atmosphere.
These rings have been earlier captured by only two times — first by Voyager 2 spacecraft in 1986, and second, by the advanced adaptive optics of the Keck Observatory, stated ESA.
The images from 1986 did not show it with such detailed features but the new picture shows how the technology has evolved that has preserved the sight of the inner features of Uranus.
Uranus is the 11th planet to the sun and is characterised by astronomers as an ice giant.
According to ESA, most of its mass is thought to be a hot, dense fluid of “icy” materials – water, methane and ammonia – above a small rocky core.
The image by JWST was combined with two filters — orange and blue.
The icy giant has a unique orbit around the sun and tilts around at a 90-degree angle. It causes the planet to experience extreme seasons, with each of its poles facing sunlight for many years and with the other side plunging into the dark for equally the same years and this changes as it tilts around the sun.
The current season at the northern pole of Uranus is Spring which can also be seen in the image with its right side brightening due to facing sunlight. It is for the first time since scientists have been able to see in such depth of Uranus.
On the left side of the icy giant in the image, clouds can be faintly seen. These clouds can only be seen at infrared wavelengths, according to ESA and “are theorised to be connected to storm activity across the ice giant”, members from the JWST team said.
At the beginning of 2028, Uranus would be experiencing Summer at its northern pole.
The amazing James Webb Telescope also captured 27 moons of Uranus that are too faint to be seen.
ESA stated: “Additional studies of Uranus are happening now, and more are planned in Webb’s first year of science operations.”
“Scientists expect that future Webb images of Uranus will reveal the two faint outer rings that were discovered with Hubble during the 2007 ring-plane crossing”, it added.
