Webb Telescope Reveals Tiny New Moon Orbiting Uranus
The newly found moon, about 6 miles wide, orbits within Uranus' dark inner rings, raising the total known moons to 29, NASA said.
- On Tuesday, NASA announced the James Webb Space Telescope detected a previously unseen moon around Uranus, designated S/2025 U1, raising its known moon count to 29.
- Because of its tiny size—about six miles—and its position inside Uranus' dark inner rings, which include 13 rings, S/2025 U1 remained undetected until Webb's observations.
- Using NIRCam, Webb detected glints of sunlight in a series of 10 40-minute long-exposure images taken during February observations, revealing the 14th small inner moon about 35,000 miles from Uranus' center.
- An official name is now awaiting International Astronomical Union approval and will likely follow the Shakespeare and Alexander Pope naming tradition, while scientists say the discovery highlights the James Webb Space Telescope's reach through its General Observer program.
- Astronomers say the discovery hints at more hidden objects around Uranus and builds on Voyager 2's Jan. 24, 1986 flyby, with James Webb Space Telescope extending that exploration nearly four decades later.
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NASA’s Webb Telescope spots a new moon orbiting Uranus
There’s a new moon on the block. A research team peering into unexplored corners of space revealed this week that our solar system harbors a secret moon that’s tucked away near Uranus. The moon was discovered by a research team using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope. Like the Hubble Telescope, the Webb Telescope was designed to snap images of deep space, helping scientists pursue some of the univers…
New moon discovered around Uranus by JWST team
Using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), scientists have discovered a tiny, previously unknown moon orbiting Uranus This new find increases the number of known Uranian moons to 29 and offers new insights into the dynamics of this often-overlooked ice giant. The discovery was made by a team led by Dr. Maryame El Moutamid from the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI). The small satellite, currently designated S/2025 U 1, was detected in a se…
Uranus' 29th Moon Can't Hide From The JWST
The JWST has found another moon orbiting Uranus. It's the planet's 29th known moon, and it bears the uninspiring, temporary name S/2025 U1. It's too small and faint to be detected by the Hubble, or by Voyager 2, the only spacecraft to visit the ice giant.
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