Hey, Space Placers!
New View Reveals a Strange and Dynamic Ice World
When Voyager 2 flew past Uranus in 1986, the planet appeared to be a nearly featureless, solid blue ball. Now, Webb shows us an infrared view that is much more dynamic and intriguing. Rings, moons, storms, and a bright, north polar cap grace these new images. Because Uranus is tipped on its side, the polar cap appears to become more prominent as the planet’s pole points towards the Sun and receives more sunlight — a time called solstice. Uranus reaches its next solstice in 2028, and astronomers will watch for changes in the planet’s atmosphere. Studying this ice giant can help astronomers understand the formation and meteorology of similarly sized planets around other suns.
CREDIT: JWST NASA
What an incredible JWST photograph of Uranus in the news release today. The detail of the multiple rings and the North polar cap are amazing as are the multiple moons.
JWST is rewriting the textbooks on our solar system, exoplanets and the Universe at large.
So much more will be discovered in the years to come.
Sky Guy in VA
No comments:
Post a Comment