# @europeanspaceagency on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DLaO22eNT0E
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/35582083-europeanspaceagency-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/9b2fa982e3.jpg
- **Posted:** 2025-06-27T15:50:00.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** J.L.Lopez (@xandler80) — https://gondola.cc/xandler80

## Caption

Four tiny moons. One big surprise. 🔵

Astronomers recently used hubbleesa to study Uranus’s four largest moons — Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon — from over 3 billion kilometres away.

Though they appear as tiny points of light, Hubble’s ultraviolet capabilities helped scientists uncover unexpected surface details.

It was predicted that the moons’ trailing sides would be darker, influenced by Uranus’s magnetic field. But Titania and Oberon, the two outer moons, showed the opposite. Their leading sides are darker, likely because they’re picking up dark dust as they orbit — like bugs on a windscreen.

Even more interesting, the inner moons, Ariel and Umbriel, don’t show this effect. It seems they’re being shielded by their larger siblings from the dusty debris.

These subtle differences offer fresh insight into how moons interact with their environment, even from billions of kilometres away.

Which of Uranus’s moons would you visit first?

📸 NASA, europeanspaceagency, space_telescopes; creativecommons BY 4.0

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 11,186
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- **Comments:** 39

## Credits

These are the roles credited on Gondola. Credits may be incomplete.
A brand, account owner, or featured person is not necessarily the creator.

| Name | Username | Profile | Role |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| ESA - European Space Agency | @europeanspaceagency | https://gondola.cc/europeanspaceagency | Government Organization |
| J.L.Lopez | @xandler80 | https://gondola.cc/xandler80 | Producer |
| J.L.Lopez | @xandler80 | https://gondola.cc/xandler80 | Editor |
| J.L.Lopez | @xandler80 | https://gondola.cc/xandler80 | Social Media Manager |
| J.L.Lopez | @xandler80 | https://gondola.cc/xandler80 | Publisher |
| J.L.Lopez | @xandler80 | https://gondola.cc/xandler80 | Copywriter |
| J.L.Lopez | @xandler80 | https://gondola.cc/xandler80 | Community Manager |

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