CaliToday (25/8/2025): NASA has officially confirmed the discovery of a new, small moon orbiting the ice giant Uranus, adding another member to the planet's growing family of natural satellites. The tiny, previously undetected object was identified by astronomers using data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), showcasing the powerful observatory's capability to uncover the solar system's hidden secrets.
The newly found moon has been given the provisional designation S/2023 U 1. It is estimated to be incredibly small, likely only about 8 to 16 kilometers (5 to 10 miles) in diameter, making it one of the tiniest of Uranus's known moons. Its dimness and small size are the primary reasons it eluded discovery for so long, even during the historic Voyager 2 flyby in 1986.
The discovery was made by a team of astronomers who were analyzing recent JWST images of the Uranian system. The telescope's exquisite sensitivity and sharp infrared vision allowed it to pick out the faint speck of light moving in a consistent orbit among the planet's other inner moons. The team then cross-referenced their findings with older data from other observatories to confirm its path and status as a bona fide moon.
"This is a thrilling discovery that pushes the limits of our observational capabilities," said Dr. Eleanor Vance, the lead astronomer on the discovery team at the SETI Institute. "To find such a small moon at such a vast distance is a testament to the power of the James Webb telescope. Each of these small worlds is a time capsule, offering clues about the violent and chaotic history of the Uranian system's formation."
S/2023 U 1 orbits within a crowded and chaotic region of Uranus's inner moons, a group that includes well-known satellites like Puck, Portia, and Juliet. Scientists believe these small inner moons are likely not primordial bodies but rather fragments of a larger moon that was shattered by a massive impact billions of years ago. The discovery of S/2023 U 1 adds another crucial piece to that historical puzzle.
With this confirmation, the total number of known moons orbiting Uranus rises to 28. Following astronomical tradition, the new moon will eventually be given a permanent name chosen from a character in the works of William Shakespeare or Alexander Pope, in keeping with the naming convention for all of Uranus's other satellites.
The find underscores how much is still left to learn about the outer solar system's ice giants, Uranus and Neptune, and has bolstered calls for a dedicated robotic mission to explore the Uranian system in the coming decades.
