James Webb has revealed a new image of the planet Uranus

06:35 p.m

This is the first view of the telescope James Webb To this ice giant from which, according to NASA, bright atmospheric features stand out, as well as 11 of the 13 rings that Uranus has.

“Only Voyager 2 and Keck (with adaptive optics) have imaged the planet’s faint rings before, and never have they been so clear,” they explained.

Uranus rotates on its side, causing its poles to experience 42 years of sunlight and 42 years of darkness. (It takes 84 years to orbit the sun.)

When Voyager passed by Uranus in 1986, it was summer at its south pole. These images from James Webb show the South Pole out of sight, against the blackness of space.

They explain, by detailing the image, that the polar cap (that bright white area) on the right side of the image is a revelation from the James Webb Telescope as it shows a subtle enhanced glow at its center. This polar cap appears in direct sunlight in the summer and disappears in the fall. Webb’s data will help us understand this mystery.”

In the other details of the image, they count on the edge of that white spot, at the top left, is a bright white spot. There is another white dot on the left side of the planet at 9 o’clock. Around the planet is a system of overlapping rings. The outer ring is the brightest, while the inner ring is the faintest. Unlike Saturn’s horizontal rings, Uranus’s rings are vertical and therefore appear to surround to the planet.”

For scientists, this is only a 12-minute exposure image, but the tip of the iceberg of what this telescope will discover.