James Webb Space Telescope snaps a pic of Uranus and its beautiful

Have you ever wondered what the rings around Uranus looked like? Well, look no further than NASA, which used its newest and most powerful space telescope to take a long look at Uranus to show its true, usually hidden, beauty. Queue seven-year-olds’ giggles.

Okay, now that we have those jokes out of the way, indeed, Webb’s newest images of Uranus are amazing, and the internet agrees. Uranus’ dusty rings have only been captured twice before, once by Voyager 2’s flyby in 1986 and by the Keck Observatory in 2004. Webb captured this photo using only two filters and a 12-minute exposure.

Take that, other super expensive and impressive feats of engineering?

New image shows a somewhat different Uranus

Both photos taken by Voyager and the Keck Observatory show a rather dull, blue planet with a few rings. However, Webb’s images, taken in February but shared this past week, show a much more vibrant planet. Still blue, but with a bright white pole region and clouds!

Uranus is tipped 90 degrees on its side. This means its poles face the Sun, which is what you see on the right side of the planet in the image. You can also spot a bright cloud on the left side, which usually means storm activity. This is a very different view from what we got when Voyager 2 passed by almost 40 years ago.

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Let’s not forget those moons! The wider image shows six of Uranus’ 27 moons. And those rings? All but two of the planet’s dusty rings are visible and need I say again, this was a 12-minute exposure? We might see more moons or the final two rings in a single image with longer exposures.

Since Webb’s launch, the new telescope has genuinely changed how we view things.

The internet was in love with Uranus’ images

This image followed Webb’s Neptune photo last year, and while the excitement level nationwide has decreased since the first color images dropped. Nevertheless, the Space Internet loves every new image that comes out.

The rings? Amazing. The blue and white marble-like planet? Impeccable. Who knew that the universe could look so amazing? Oh wait, we say this like every time a new Webb image comes out. Are you really a fan if you don’t have a revolving album of space images as your computer’s background?

Hard to think this has only been about a year since Webb has become operational and with a lifespan of 10 years, but it will most likely outlive that estimate. So, just like Hubble, here’s to being amazed over and over again by each new image.