A team led by the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has identified a previously unknown moon orbiting Uranus using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, expanding the planet’s known satellite family to 29. The discovery was made during a Feb. 2, 2025, observation.
The new moon is estimated to be about six miles in diameter and orbits Uranus at a distance of approximately 35,000 miles from the planet’s center. Its orbit is nearly circular, suggesting it may have formed near its current location. This discovery further highlights the complexity of Uranus’ inner moons system, which includes over 20 small moons.
The detection was made possible by the Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) instrument on the Webb telescope, which has high resolution and infrared sensitivity. The team’s findings provide new insights into the formation and evolution of Uranus’ moons and rings.
Source: https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/webb/2025/08/19/new-moon-discovered-orbiting-uranus-using-nasas-webb-telescope