It’s rare to see pictures of our universe and even rarer to know what the planets in our solar system look like.
Well, NASA has released new images of the enigmatic planet of Uranus and the pictures are really special.
To capture the images, NASA used its James Webb Telescope and it has picked up an insane amount of detail.
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From Uranus’s unusual rings to its 27 moons orbiting the planet, the photos give us a clear view of the ice giant.
The telescope even captured storms and atmospheric features including a seasonal polar cap.
Uranus is known for having some of the most extreme seasons in the solar system as it spins on its side and has a tilt of 98 degrees.
For nearly a quarter of each Uranian year - which is the same as 84 Earth years - the Sun shines over one pole.
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That means half of the planet is plunged into darkness creating a winter lasting 21 years. How gloomy.
Two-color images were released earlier this year, but these new photos were added with wavelength coverage to give a more detailed look at the planet.
In particular, its famous rings such as the Zeta ring, which is the very faint ring closest to the planet.
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NASA suggests these images could be a big step towards a better understanding of Uranus.
On its website, the space agency wrote: “With Webb’s unparalleled infrared resolution and sensitivity, astronomers now see Uranus and its unique features with ground-breaking new clarity.
“These details, especially of the close-in Zeta ring, will be invaluable to planning any future missions to Uranus.”
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It would even help astronomers with future space travel, particularly the exoplanets that exist outside of our solar system.
“Uranus can also serve as a proxy for studying the nearly 2,000 similarly sized exoplanets that have been discovered in the last few decades,” NASA explained.
“This “exoplanet in our backyard” can help astronomers understand how planets of this size work, what their meteorology is like, and how they formed.
“This can in turn help us understand our own solar system as a whole by placing it in a larger context.”
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The stunning pictures really show off the majesty of the planet Uranus.