🪐 A New Moon Discovered Around Uranus with James Webb Telescope
Astronomers have identified a brand-new moon orbiting Uranus, raising the planet’s known moon count to 29. The faint object, temporarily named S/2025 U 1, was spotted by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) during a study of Uranus’ rings, led by Maryame El Moutamid from the Southwest Research Institute.
The moon, just 10 km wide, escaped detection even by Voyager 2 in 1986. Located between Uranus’ moons Ophelia and Bianca, it lies about 56,250 km from the planet’s center.
Like Uranus’ other moons, it will eventually receive an official name inspired by Shakespearean characters, a tradition dating back to the discovery of Titania and Oberon in 1787.
Experts say this could be the first of many more hidden moons shaping Uranus’ rings. Future missions, such as the proposed Uranus Orbiter and Probe in 2044, may uncover even more.
🔭 As astronomer Mark Showalter put it: “It’s like trying to see a fly in headlights — James Webb makes the impossible possible.”