James Webb Space Telescope discovers new moon around Uranus
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope just found a brand-new moon orbiting Uranus, bumping the planet's total to 29.
The little moon—named S/2025 U1—is only about 10km wide and was first spotted on February 2, 2025.
Voyager 2 missed it back in 1986 because it's so small and hides close to Uranus's bright rings.
New moon's orbit hints at ancient cosmic event
S/2025 U1 circles Uranus about 56,000km out, between moons Ophelia and Bianca.
Its almost-perfectly round path hints it probably formed right there.
Scientists think it might be leftover debris from an old cosmic event that also helped create some of Uranus's rings.
NASA's Uranus mission in early 2030s
Webb could spot this tiny world thanks to its powerful infrared vision—regular telescopes just aren't up to the task.
Looking ahead, NASA plans to send a dedicated mission to Uranus in the early 2030s, aiming to learn more about how these small moons and the planet's rings all interact.