Latest news with #Umbriel
Yahoo
5 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 The discovery has also not yet been peer-reviewed.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
Perth Now
11 hours ago
- Science
- Perth Now
NASA's Webb telescope discovers tiny moon around Uranus
The Webb Space Telescope has spotted a tiny new moon orbiting Uranus. The new member of the lunar gang, announced on Tuesday by NASA, appears to be just 10km wide. It was spotted by the telescope's near-infrared camera during observations in February. Of the planet's now 29 moons, this one is the 14th member of the system of moons orbiting inward of the largest moons,Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, and Oberon. NASA Webb Telescope (@NASAWebb) August 19, 2025 Scientists think it hid for so long - even eluding the Voyager 2 spacecraft during its flyby about 40 years ago - because of its faintness and small size. 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.
Yahoo
11 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
NBC News
12 hours ago
- Science
- NBC News
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 ofShakespeare 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.'
Engadget
12 hours ago
- Science
- Engadget
Webb telescope spots a new moon orbiting Uranus
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) continues to bear fruit. Images captured by the floating watchtower revealed a previously unknown moon orbiting Uranus. The discovery, made on February 2, increases the planet's moon tally to 29. The moon was easy to miss: It's only an estimated six miles wide. It's located about 35,000 miles from Uranus' center, orbiting the planet's equatorial plane. The moon has a nearly circular orbit, suggesting it could have formed near its current location. NASA's short video below shows the faint speck orbiting its ringed host. The new moon joins 13 other small moons in Uranus' orbit. The planet also has five major moons (Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon) and 10 irregular ones. The new moon won't have a name until one is approved by the International Astronomical Union (IAU). It was detected using 10 40-minute long-exposure images taken by Webb's Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam). A team led by the Southwest Research Institute pored through the telescope's images to identify it. "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,' Matthew Tiscareno of the SETI Institute wrote. '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.'
