The planet Uranus, the second ice giant in the solar system, has been captured in a breathtaking photograph by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the most potent observatory ever put in orbit. The images show brilliant characteristics in the ice giant's atmosphere as well as breathtaking vistas of its dramatic rings.
In one image, Webb reveals a subtle enhancement of brightness at its centre. This polar cap appears in the direct sunlight of summer and vanishes in the fall. Webb's data will help us to understand this mystery.
The space agency shared the images on Instagram and wrote, "Most of its 27 moons are too small and faint to see, but the six brightest ones are visible. The other bright objects are background galaxies. This was only a 12-minute exposure image. It's just the tip of the iceberg for what Webb will uncover."
According to NASA, "the seventh planet from the sun, Uranus, is unique: It rotates on its side, at roughly a 90-degree angle from the plane of its orbit. This causes extreme seasons since the planet's poles experience many years of constant sunlight followed by an equal number of years of complete darkness. (Uranus takes 84 years to orbit the sun.) Currently, it is late spring at the northern pole, which is visible here; Uranus' northern summer will be in 2028. In contrast, when Voyager 2 visited Uranus, it was summer at the south pole. The south pole is now on the 'dark side' of the planet, out of view and facing the darkness of space."
