Uranus. (Go ahead, get it out of your system. We tried.)
The NASAWebb telescope highlights 11 of the seventh planet’s 13 rings. Only Voyager 2 and Keck (with adaptive optics) have imaged the planet's faintest rings before, and never as clearly as Webb.
In the first image, check out the polar cap (bright white area) on the right side. Webb reveals a subtle enhanced brightening at its center. 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.
Take a look at Uranus’s moons in the second image. Most of its 27 moons are too small and faint, but the 6 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 ice(planet)berg for what Webb will uncover. Read more at the link in NASAWebb’s bio.
Image descriptions:
1. The planet Uranus on a black background. The planet appears light blue with a large, white ...
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