Astronomers from the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) have discovered a previously unknown moon of Uranus using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope. The new celestial body has been given the temporary designation S/2025 U1 and is the planet's 29th known moon. The discovery was made during observations on February 2, 2025.
This was reported on the NASA website.
According to the head of the study, Maryame El Moutamid, the object was spotted in a series of long-exposure images taken by the NIRCam infrared camera. The moon is small - about 10 km in diameter - and much dimmer than the previously known "inner" moons of Uranus. This is why Voyager 2 failed to capture it during its flyby almost 40 years ago.
The new moon orbits about 56,000 kilometers from the center of Uranus, between the orbits of Ophelia and Bianca. Its orbit is almost circular, which may indicate that it formed near its current location.
Scientists emphasize that the system of small moons of Uranus is one of the most complex in the solar system and closely interacts with the planet's rings. This discovery may shed light on the chaotic history of the formation of this part of the cosmos. The final name of the new moon has yet to be approved by the International Astronomical Union.
Earlier, the James Webb Space Telescope took unique images of the aurora at Jupiter's north pole, showing this phenomenon with unprecedented precision.
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