From time to time, NASA releases photographs that bring the beauty of outer space closer to the public—and thanks to the Webb Telescope, it can convey them in a way never seen before. Now it has shown perhaps the most detailed images of Uranus, in which the seventh planet of the solar system can be seen with its characteristic rings.
Uranus came into the crosshairs of the James Webb Space Telescope, which will celebrate two years of active operation on December 25, for the second time this year. For the first time, NASA published its fascinating photos in April, when scientists and space fans were particularly interested in the visibility of the rings that orbit the third largest planet in the solar system, including the faint one labeled Zeta.
A similar view is offered even now, but in a different format. The latest images of Uranus are unique in that they are captured using the infrared spectrum, which allows you to see wavelengths inaccessible to the human eye, which should be reflected in particular in the visibility of the rings, of which Uranus has a total of thirteen, although they are very confluent.
“One of the most striking features is the planet’s seasonal northern polar cloud cover. Compared to the image from earlier this year, some of the details of the cap are more visible in these newer photos. These include a bright inner cap and a dark band at the bottom of the polar cap toward lower latitudes.” states NASA on its website.
The moons of Uranus also offer an interesting view. Fourteen of its total twenty-seven known months can be seen in the photograph. For astronomers, the new batch of images is also essential in that it will allow, for example, to investigate the existence of exoplanets.
Of course, the Webb telescope is not only focused on Uranus. It serves a variety of purposes, for example, last October NASA showed a detailed image of the famous Pillar of Creation Nebula, and this March, the telescope caught a star just before its extinction. And a few months ago, he applied his technological abilities to capture a very rare phenomenon – the cosmic question mark.
2023-12-25 16:03:31
#Rings #deep #space #NASA #shown #fascinating #images #planet #Uranus
