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USA Today
2 hours ago
- Science
- USA Today
New 'tiny' moon found orbiting Uranus, bringing satellite family to 29
A team at the NASA has discovered a new moon orbiting Uranus, and this one is even smaller than the others. A team led by the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) discovered the moon on Feb. 2. They made the discovery using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, which the space agency says is the largest, most powerful telescope ever launched into space. The newly-discovered moon, called S/2025 U1, is about 6 miles in diameter, NASA said, calling it "tiny." Its discovery brings Uranus' total satellite family to 29. "This object was spotted in a series of 10 40-minute long-exposure images captured by the Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam)," said Maryame El Moutamid, a Colorado-based lead scientist from SwRI, in a news release. "It's a small moon but a significant discovery, which is something that even NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft didn't see during its flyby nearly 40 years ago." According to NASA, the NIRCam used to detect the new moon has high resolution and infrared sensitivity that allows it to pick up faint, distant objects. Where is the new 'tiny' moon? Uranus is the seventh planet from the sun, and the third-largest planet in our solar system, according to NASA. It is a cold, windy planet that is surrounded by faint rings. The planet differs from the others because it has more small inner moons, Matthew Tiscareno, who is on the research team that discovered the moon, said in the news release. "The new moon is smaller and much fainter than the smallest of the previously known inner moons, making it likely that even more complexity remains to be discovered," Tiscareno said. The new moon, Moon S/2025 U1, is located about 35,000 miles from Uranus' center, between the orbits of Ophelia and Bianca. It is the 14th small moon orbiting inward of these larger moons, NASA said. While Uranus now has a total of 29 moons, NASA said five of them are considered major moons: Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon. Moons on Uranus are often called the literary moons because they are named after Shakespearean characters, as well as characters from titles by the English author Alexander Pope. Before the new moon gets an official name of its own, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) will need to approve it, according to the news release. The union is responsible for officiating names and designations for astronomical objects. Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY's NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Email her at sdmartin@
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Science
- Yahoo
James Webb Spots Mysterious Object Orbiting Uranus
Circle Strafe NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has spotted a tiny moon orbiting Uranus, expanding the number of the planet's known satellites to 29. In early February, the space observatory's Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) caught the minuscule and still-unnamed object orbiting the gas giant at a distance of 35,000 miles. "It's a small moon but a significant discovery, which is something that even NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft didn't see during its flyby nearly 40 years ago," said Southwest Research Institute lead scientist Maryame El Moutamid in a NASA statement. Scientists estimate the diminutive world is just six miles in diameter, which could explain why even our most sensitive equipment has missed it until now. "No other planet has as many small inner moons as Uranus, and their complex inter-relationships with the rings hint at a chaotic history that blurs the boundary between a ring system and a system of moons," said SETI Institute researcher and research team member Matthew Tiscareno. "Moreover, the new moon is smaller and much fainter than the smallest of the previously known inner moons, making it likely that even more complexity remains to be discovered." Ring Cycle Its almost perfectly circular orbit has led the scientists to conclude that it must have formed somewhere near its current location. Uranus' 29 moons range significantly in size, with the largest, Titania, measuring 981 miles in diameter, making it the eighth-largest moon in the solar system. Before Voyager 2 visited Uranus, unveiling almost a dozen new moons, Miranda was considered the smallest, measuring 290 miles in diameter. Scientists are still debating how Uranus' moons came to be. Existing theories include material sticking together in the planet's large accretion disk over time, or possibly a giant impact that knocked material loose. At the time of Voyager 2's visit, Uranus had 15 known moons. Additional observations since then, including help from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, have revealed more than a dozen new ones, which tend to be significantly smaller. That makes the latest discovery all the more impressive, considering the newly spotted moon is only a fraction of the size of Miranda. "It's a tiny object right next to a very, very bright object," SETI Institute researcher and team member Mark Showalter told New Scientist. "It's like staring into the headlight of a car and trying to look at a fly." "The James Webb telescope is an extraordinary instrument that is vastly more sensitive than any other telescope that has ever existed, frankly," he added. More on Uranus: Scientists Say That Uranus Appears to Have a Girlfriend Solve the daily Crossword
India Today
15 hours ago
- Science
- India Today
James Webb Telescope discovers unknown moon orbiting Uranus
In what could be an astonishing new find, the James Webb Space Telescope has discovered a new moon going around Uranus at the edge of the Solar to be about 10 kilometres wide, the moon has remained invisible for decades after the Voyager-2 spacecraft conducted the lunar survey around Uranus. 'No other planet has as many small inner moons as Uranus, and their complex inter-relationships with the rings hint at a chaotic history that blurs the boundary between a ring system and a system of moons,' said Matthew Tiscareno of the SETI He added that he new moon is smaller and much fainter than the smallest of the previously known inner moons, making it likely that even more complexity remains to be discovered. The latest discovery puts the tally of confirmed moons around Uranus to a whopping 29. Earth, for reference, has just one Moon.'It's located about 56,000 kilometres from Uranus' centre, orbiting the planet's equatorial plane between the orbits of Ophelia (which is just outside of Uranus' main ring system) and Bianca,' said El Moutamid. 'Its nearly circular orbit suggests it may have formed near its current location.'The new moon is the 14th member of the intricate system of small moons orbiting inward of the largest moons Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, and new moon is, however, unnamed at the moment. Nasa said that a name for the newly found moon will need to be approved by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), the leading authority in assigning official names and designations to astronomical objects. The new moon is the 14th member of the intricate system of small moons Uranus. (Photo: Nasa) This discovery comes as part of Webb's General Observer program, which allows scientists worldwide to propose investigations using the telescope's cutting-edge instruments. The NIRCam instrument's high resolution and infrared sensitivity make it especially adept at detecting faint, distant objects that were beyond the reach of previous observatories,' said El Moutamid.- EndsMust Watch
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Science
- Yahoo
A new moon discovered orbiting Uranus is so small, you could walk it in two hours
Roll out the cosmic welcome mat for our solar system's newest resident: a never-before-seen moon orbiting Uranus. A team of astronomers announced Tuesday that a new satellite measuring roughly 90 football fields across was discovered around the seventh planet from the sun. The moon, which was first seen by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope on Feb. 2, joins a busy neighborhood of 28 other known moons around Uranus. The Webb telescope's observations of Uranus are giving scientists better insight into one of the more mysterious planets in our solar system. 'No other planet has as many small inner moons as Uranus,' Matthew Tiscareno, a member of the research team and a senior research scientist at the SETI Institute in California, said in a statement. Tiscareno said the 'complex inter-relationships' between Uranus' moons and its faint rings suggest the planet's evolutionary history may have been a chaotic one. 'Moreover, the new moon is smaller and much fainter than the smallest of the previously known inner moons, making it likely that even more complexity remains to be discovered,' he said in the statement. The newfound satellite is about 35,000 miles from the center of the planet, with a near circular orbit, according to the researchers. It's only about 6 miles across — a distance that can be walked in about two hours at a brisk pace — but follow-up observations are needed to confirm the moon's size and other characteristics. The discovery has also not yet been peer-reviewed. Uranus has five large, outer moons named Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon. The newly discovered moon is inside the orbits of the five larger moons, the researchers said. All of Uranus' moons are named after characters from the works of Shakespeare and Alexander Pope, according to NASA. The new moon does not yet have a name, though any designation will eventually need to be approved by the International Astronomical Union, which oversees the official naming process for astronomical objects. 'It's a small moon but a significant discovery, which is something that even NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft didn't see during its flyby nearly 40 years ago,' Maryame El Moutamid, a lead scientist in the Southwest Research Institute's Solar System Science and Exploration Division, said in a statement. In 1986, the Voyager 2 probe became the first human-made object to fly past Uranus, giving humanity its first close-up views of the distant planet. The historic encounter yielded more than 7,000 photographs of Uranus and helped scientists discover two new rings and 11 new moons around the planet. The newest moon's tiny size likely made it too small for Voyager 2's cameras to see, but the Webb telescope's high-resolution instruments may shed more light on the planet and its system. 'Looking forward, the discovery of this moon underscores how modern astronomy continues to build upon the legacy of missions like Voyager 2,' El Moutamid said in the statement. 'Now, nearly four decades later, the James Webb Space Telescope is pushing that frontier even farther.' This article was originally published on Solve the daily Crossword
The Journal
a day ago
- Science
- The Journal
Nasa's Webb telescope discovers new 'tiny' moon orbiting Uranus
Astronomers discovered a new moon orbiting Uranus in images taken by Webb's NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) Nasa Nasa NASA HAS SPOTTED a new tiny moon orbiting Uranus using the James Webb Space Telescope. The newly discovered moon is estimated to be just 10 kilometres in diameter. Nasa said its 'tiny' size likely made it invisible to Voyager 2 spacecraft during its flyby about 40 years ago and other telescopes. 'No other planet has as many small inner moons as Uranus,' explained Matthew Tiscareno, a member of the research team. 'Their complex inter-relationships with the rings hint at a chaotic history that blurs the boundary between a ring system and a system of moons. Advertisement 'Moreover, the new moon is smaller and much fainter than the smallest of the previously known inner moons, making it likely that even more complexity remains to be discovered.' James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) / YouTube Uranus has 28 known moons that are named after characters from Shakespeare and Alexander Pope. About half are smaller and orbit the planet at closer range. This newest addition, still nameless, ups the planet's total moon count to 29. A name for the newly found moon, located about 56,000 kilometres from Uranus' centre, will need to be approved by the International Astronomical Union, the leading authority in assigning official names and designations to astronomical objects. Maryame El Moutamid, lead scientist at the Southwest Research Institute, said the discovery of this moon 'underscores how modern astronomy continues to build upon the legacy of missions like Voyager 2, which flew past Uranus on 24 January, 1986, and gave humanity its first close-up look at this mysterious world'. 'Now, nearly four decades later, the James Webb Space Telescope is pushing that frontier even farther.' Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
