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They’re running rings around Uranus. New research suggests a moon orbiting the sophomoric-sounding planet might contain enough natural resources to support alien life. Scientists from Johns Hopkins and the University of North Dakota say the lunar object, named Miranda, has sources of water hidden below its surface. The finding could be a breakthrough in mankind’s ongoing search for the little green men. “To find evidence of an ocean inside a small object like Miranda is incredibly surprising,” said planetary scientist and researcher Tom Nordheim. The findings were published in The Planetary Science Journal. “It helps build on the story that...

Hubble And New Horizons are 9 billion kilometers (5.6 million miles) apart but they can still work together. Uranus as seen by Hubble (left) and New Horizons (right). Image Credit: NASA, ESA, STScI, Samantha Hasler (MIT), Amy Simon (NASA-GSFC), New Horizons Planetary Science Theme Team Image Processing Joseph DePasquale (STScI), Joseph Olmsted (STScI) ===================================================================================== Studying exoplanets is not easy. Despite enormous steps forward in technology, models, and observational tricks, astronomers are still looking at small dots either blocking some starlight or reflecting it while being next to a bright object that easily outshines them. It requires practice, and researchers have...

The mystery dates back to Voyager 2's visit to Uranus in January 1986, far before the probe left the solar system in 2018. The spacecraft found that Uranus' magnetic field is asymmetric and tilted roughly 60° away from its spin axis. Additionally, Voyager 2 found that the radiation belts of Uranus, consisting of particles trapped by this magnetic field, are about 100 times weaker than predicted. "It has a magnetic field like no other in the solar system. Most planets that have strong intrinsic magnetic fields, like Earth, Jupiter and Saturn. They have a very 'traditional' magnetic field shape, which...

Scientists have found methane deep within Uranus - revealing the blue planet is gassier than previously thought. Early experiments of Uranus found the planet is primarily made up of Helium and hydrogen with a touch of methane, but a new study said it considerably outstrips previous expectations. What's odd about the methane though, is it isn't in gas-form but is frozen or 'mushy,' - like a 7-eleven Slurpee - and is lodged in Uranus's core. Researchers at the Israel Institute of Technology and University of California Santa Cruz revealed that despite findings that said Uranus is made up entirely of...

The search for exomoons orbiting planets outside our solar system has sparked a significant debate within the astronomical community, involving a pair of contrasting studies that presented divergent viewpoints on the existence of exomoons Kepler-1625b-i and Kepler-1708b-i. Much like Schrödinger’s oddball cat that is both dead and alive inside a box, we won’t really know until someone goes and looks. But in a new paper recently uploaded to the arXiv preprint server, a team of astronomers led by David Kipping from Columbia University takes issue with the drama surrounding the ongoing exomoon search. A DISCOVERY GETS DASHED In 2017, Kipping,...

Image of Uranus from Webb It seems crazy that Uranus was discovered in 1781 yet here we are, in 2024 and we have only sent one spacecraft to explore Uranus. Voyager 2 is the only spacecraft to have given us close-up images of Uranus (and Neptune) but since their visit in 1986, we have not returned. There have of course been great images from the Hubble Space Telescope and from the James Webb Space Telescope but we still have lots to learn about them. The discovery of Uranus was accidental! British astronomer William Herschel was surveying stars that were too...

Astronomers have discovered an Earth-sized planet orbiting a star similar to the sun, only 73 light years away. Previous studies using the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) had spotted two larger planets around the star in 2020; the new planet was discovered during follow-up observations designed to confirm the earlier findings. Astronomers have previously found Earth-sized planets around distant stars, but nearly all of those have been found orbiting smaller, cooler red dwarf stars instead of G-type main sequence stars like our sun. The relatively close nature of the new find also opens up opportunities to study the planet more...

Astronomers have used telescope data to color-correct Voyager 2 images of Neptune and Uranus, revealing that the planets have a similar greenish blue hue. VIDEO AT LINK........... Panels a and b show early images of the visible appearance of Uranus and Neptune reconstructed from Voyager 2 ISS images in 1986 and 1989, respectively, showing Uranus to be pale blue-green, and Neptune dark blue (PIA18182 and PIA01492, credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech). While these early Uranus images were close to ‘true’ colour, the Neptune images were actually stretched and enhanced. Panels c and d show more recent reconstructions of the true colours of these...

Our ideas of the colours of the planets Neptune and Uranus have been wrong, research led by UK astronomers reveals. Images from a space mission in the 1980s showed Neptune to be a rich blue and Uranus green. But a study has discovered that the two ice giant planets are both similar shades of greenish blue. It has emerged that the earlier images of Neptune had been enhanced to show details of the planet's atmosphere, which altered its true colour. "They did something that I think everyone on Instagram will have done at some time in their life, they tweaked...

It's big enough to share and "dripping with hot oil and sex," according to Stoned Appetit host Kip Wilson.It's impossible to deny the appeal of mozzarella sticks. Cheese, breaded and fried, then dunked in marinara? That's a winner every time. Even the frozen kind plopped into an air fryer is pretty hard to resist. But not all mozzarella sticks are created equal. Our friends at Stoned Appetit know that, which is why podcast host Kip Wilson often posts mozzarella stick reviews, dishing out scores for "pull game," "taste and texture," "marinara" and "how it makes me feel." Now a new...

The James Webb Space Telescope has captured detailed images of Uranus, revealing its dynamic atmosphere, including rings, moons, and storms. This enhanced view contrasts with earlier images, showing a more active Uranus with a prominent seasonal north polar cloud cap and several storms. These observations are vital for understanding the planet’s complex atmosphere and may also provide insights into the study of exoplanets. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI New View Reveals a Strange and Dynamic Ice World When Voyager 2 flew past Uranus in 1986, the planet appeared to be a nearly featureless, solid blue ball. Now, Webb shows us...

Stunning new images released by NASA on Monday detailed new images of Uranus, revealing a stunning look at its glowing rings and one rarely seen feature. The photos, taken by NASA’s high-power James Webb Space Telescope, captured the icy planet along with its multiple inner and outer rings, nine of its 27 known moons and a seasonal polar cap. The new pictures offer a rare glimpse of the “elusive” Zeta ring, an extremely faint and diffuse ring closest to the planet — shown in a reddish brown. Multiple other rings were captured in a glowing blue. The Webb telescope also...

"By analysing Uranus’s aurora which directly connects to both the planet's magnetic field and atmosphere, we can make predictions about the atmospheres and magnetic fields of these worlds and hence their suitability for life. "Our results will go on to broaden our knowledge of ice giant auroras and strengthen our understanding of planetary magnetic fields in our solar system, at exoplanets and even our own planet." Earlier this year scientists revealed new data found two of the 27 moons orbiting Uranus could have active oceans deep beneath their surfaces where extra terrestrials (ETs) could also be present. The news comes...

An artistic representation of how the northern infrared aurora would have looked in 2006 (marked in red). The darker red locations indicate confirmed aurora locations, with fainter red used to mark possible aurora locations. Credit to NASA, ESA and M. Showalter (SETI Institute) for the background image of Uranus, as was observed by the Hubble Space Telescope (in the visible spectrum) in August 2005. Credit: NASA, ESA and M. Showalter (SETI Institute) for the background image of Uranus, as was observed by the Hubble Space Telescope (in the visible spectrum) in August 2005. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ University of Leicester astronomers confirm the...

NASA is asking amateur astronomers to help the agency study the ice giants Uranus and Neptune. Next month, NASA will be observing the two planets via its New Horizons spacecraft, originally designed to explore Pluto and the Kuiper Belt, a disc of icy bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune and often a source of comets. Working with the Hubble Space Telescope, New Horizons plans to capture images of Uranus and Neptune in color. Because the spacecraft has passed the orbit of both planets, the images will be taken from "behind," which should provide some data regarding the atmosphere on both...

Sorry, Jupiter. Astronomers have discovered 62 new moons orbiting the ringed planet Saturn. The satellite haul brings the planet's total number of moons to over 100 and also means the gas giant takes back the crown as the solar system's "moon king" from Jupiter. Prior to this discovery, Saturn had 83 moons recognized by the International Astronomical Union(opens in new tab), so the new batch brings the total number to an incredible 145. The discovery marks another milestone for Saturn, with the planet becoming the first world in the cosmos known to be orbited by more than 100 moons. The...

'If the moons had benefited from long-term heating, then they could have maintained a thick ocean.' NASA's James Webb Space Telescope captured this shot of Uranus and six of its 27 known moons. A number of background objects, including distant galaxies, are also visible. (Image credit: SCIENCE: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI IMAGE PROCESSING: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)) The four biggest moons of Uranus may harbor salty oceans below their frozen surfaces, a new study suggests. Scientists taking a fresh look at 40-year-old data sent home by NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft say that the satellites Titania and Oberon, which orbit the farthest...

Webb’s infrared image highlights the planet’s dramatic rings and dynamic atmosphere. This zoomed-in image of Uranus, captured by Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) on 6 February 2023, reveals stunning views of the planet’s rings. The planet displays a blue hue in this representative-colour image, made by combining data from two filters (F140M, F300M) at 1.4 and 3.0 microns, shown here as blue and orange, respectively. On the right side of the planet is an area of brightening at the pole facing the Sun, known as a polar cap. This polar cap is unique to Uranus because it is the only planet...

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has captured an amazing image of Uranus, showing in great detail the ice giant's ring system, its brightest moons and its dynamic atmosphere. The new observation, made on Feb. 6, follows a similarly stunning photo JWST captured recently of the solar system's other ice giant, Neptune. The new Uranus image shows 11 of the planet's 13 known rings, some of which are so bright that they blend together somewhat. What will really astound astronomers, however, is the fact that JWST's Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam) instrument is sensitive enough to have captured the innermost two...

The weather is slowly changing on Jupiter and Uranus, according to our galaxy’s own interplanetary meteorologist. The NASA Hubble Space Telescope captured Earth’s outer planetary neighbors in images from 2014 to 2022, documenting changes in the planets’ weather and seasons over time With Jupiter at about 484 million miles (779 million kilometers) away from our sun and Uranus about 1.8 billion miles (3 billion kilometers) away, each takes longer to orbit the sun, which means a slower pace of seasons. But the gas giants still experience extreme weather. That’s especially true for Uranus, with its peculiar, tilted axis that causes...