Figure: Image of Uranus taken by the Webb Telescope’s Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam) on February 6, 2023. (NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI)
[The Epoch Times, April 8, 2023](The Epoch Times reporter Takasugi compiled a report) After taking what has been hailed as “the best picture of Neptune in decades” in 2022, NASA will use the James Webb Space Telescope’s high-energy The camera is aimed at another ice giant planet in the solar system-Uranus.
NASA said the James Webb Space Telescope took a “stunning” new image of Uranus on February 6 that clearly shows the planet’s faint, previously seldom-photographed rings.
NASA announced on April 6: “This new image features striking rings and bright spots in the planet’s atmosphere.”
Webb’s data are extremely sensitive, revealing the faintest dust rings. Only two of the rings have previously been photographed: the Voyager 2 spacecraft, which flew by Uranus in 1986, and the Keck Observatory, which uses advanced adaptive optics.
This new zoomed-in image of Uranus also shows the unique axis the planet possesses. Unlike Earth, which rotates on an axis at a 23.4-degree angle, Uranus rotates at almost 90 degrees, NASA explained. This extreme tilt makes Uranus the only planet that spins almost completely sideways. As a result, Uranus’s poles are on either side of it, making it appear more like a ball rolling around the sun.
NASA said: “On the planet’s right, at the pole facing the sun, there is a brighter region called the ‘polar cap.’ This polar cap is unique to Uranus because it is the only one in the solar system. A planet that rotates at a sideways tilt, which causes it to have unique seasons. A new feature of this “polar cap” revealed by the Webb Space Telescope is an imperceptible bright spot near Uranus’ north pole.”
NASA explained that the bright spots seen in Webb’s new photos are the planet’s cloud cover, which may be associated with typical storm activity.
A wide-angle view of the Uranus system was taken, also showing six of the planet’s 27 known moons. Most of the remaining satellites are too small to be seen in the image. Objects visible in the wide-angle photo include: Uranus, its moons Ariel, Miranda, Oberon, Puck, Titania, and Umbriel, and many distant galaxies.
Responsible Editor: Ye Ziwei#
