Uranus has always been an enigma of the solar system; it is the only planet tipped on its side with a north pole pointing more towards the sun than its own equator. It was officially discovered in 1781, when William Herschel spotted the peculiar ice giant. Since then, science has progressed in leaps and bounds to finally reveal the strange features of Uranus.
Thanks to the newest imaging technology, the powerful space telescope Webb, the hidden features of Uranus have come to light. Its thin rings are revealed in the new image released by the Space Telescope Science Institute. What’s unique about these rings is their composition; unlike Saturn‘s rings which are composed of chunks of rock and ice, Uranus’ rings are made out of thin swaths of hydrocarbons. The ring itself is no more than a couple of kilometers across; so thin that it is nearly invisible to human and any other optical equipment.
Apart from the rings, Uranus also has a plethora of unusual features. Jet streams that whip around the planet’s atmosphere create unique dynamic weather systems. These jet streams can reach peak speeds of nearly 1200 kph and create winds that can vary in direction at any given second. What’s more, the unusual tilt of Uranus causes the suns rays to fall over alternating hemispheres every 42 years, leading to extreme seasonal weather.
The thought-provoking image released with the help of the Webb telescope also captures Uranus’ small moon Cupid which can be seen as a small pale dot in the upper right corner of the photo. The moon is just 18 kilometers wide, and is considered to be one of the smallest moons in the solar system.
The new image of Uranus released thanks to the Webb telescope, furthers our understanding of this mysterious ice giant. The interesting features seen in the image certainly open up new avenues of Research which could help unravel the secrets of the solar system.
