With the infrared wavelengths and extra sensitivity of Webb we see more detail, showing how dynamic the atmosphere of Uranus really is. When Voyager 2 looked at Uranus, its camera showed an almost featureless blue-green ball in visible wavelengths. The planet displays a blue hue in the resulting representative-color image. This infrared image from Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) combines data from two filters at 1.4 and 3.0 microns, which are shown here in blue and orange, respectively.
The south pole is now on the ‘dark side’ of the planet, out of view and facing the darkness of space. In contrast, when Voyager 2 visited Uranus it was summer at the south pole. (Uranus takes 84 years to orbit the Sun.) Currently, it is late spring for the northern pole, which is visible here Uranus’ northern summer will be in 2028. 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. 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. The Webb data demonstrates the observatory’s unprecedented sensitivity for the faintest dusty rings, which have only ever been imaged by two other facilities: the Voyager 2 spacecraft as it flew past the planet in 1986, and the Keck Observatory with advanced adaptive optics. The new image features dramatic rings as well as bright features in the planet’s atmosphere. Newswise - Following in the footsteps of the Neptune image released in 2022, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has taken a stunning image of the solar system’s other ice giant, the planet Uranus. Such clouds are typical for Uranus in infrared wavelengths, and likely are connected to storm activity. A new aspect of the polar cap revealed by Webb is a subtle brightening near the Uranian north pole.Īt the edge of the polar cap lies a bright cloud as well as a few fainter extended features just beyond the cap’s edge, and a second very bright cloud is seen at the planet’s left limb. This polar cap is unique to Uranus because it is the only planet in the solar system tilted on its side, which causes its extreme seasons. On the right side of the planet there’s an area of brightening at the pole facing the Sun, known as a polar cap. The planet displays a blue hue in this representative-color image, made by combining data from two filters (F140M, F300M) at 1.4 and 3.0 microns, which are shown here as blue and orange, respectively. 6, 2023, reveals stunning views of the planet’s rings. This zoomed-in image of Uranus, captured by Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) Feb.
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