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JWST Digs Into the Uranian Ionosphere

February 27, 2026
JWST Digs Into the Uranian Ionosphere
By Carolyn Collins Petersen (https://ift.tt/CShOWQy)

JWST's NIRSpec instrument detected two bright auroral bands near Uranus’s magnetic poles, together with reduced emission and ion density in part of the region between the two bands (a feature likely linked to transitions in magnetic field lines). Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA, CSA, STScI, P. Tiranti, H. Melin, M. Zamani (ESA/Webb)

Uranus is a planet that seems to roll around on its side as it orbits the Sun. That's because it's tipped over, with an axial tilt of 97.8 degrees. That weird tilt gave the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) a chance to probe the ionosphere using the Near Infrared Spectrometer (NIRSpec) instrument. An international team of astronomers used the data to map the vertical structure of that region and detect faint auroral displays.



February 27, 2026 at 10:38PM
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