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Webb Telescope Reveals Tiny New Uranus Moon, Raising Count to 29

Infrared images from February reveal a six-mile-wide satellite pending peer review and an official name.

Credit: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI/M. El Moutamid (SwRI)/M. Hedman (University of Idaho)
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Overview

  • NASA and a Southwest Research Institute team announced on Aug. 19 the detection of a previously unknown moon, provisionally designated S/2025 U1.
  • S/2025 U1 orbits about 35,000 miles (56,000 kilometers) from Uranus’ center in the equatorial plane between Ophelia and Bianca on a nearly circular path.
  • The object was identified in ten 40‑minute long‑exposure images from JWST’s Near‑Infrared Camera taken on Feb. 2, 2025.
  • At roughly six miles (10 kilometers) across and very faint, the moon escaped Voyager 2’s 1986 flyby and earlier telescope surveys.
  • Researchers say the find supports evidence for additional tiny inner moons that interact with and help shape Uranus’ rings, with follow‑up observations planned and naming to be approved by the IAU.