images

Uranus and moons seen by the VLT.

by

ESO/Novapix

Reference

a-ura01-00001

Date

2006-10-04

Near-infrared view of the giant planet Uranus with rings and seven of its moons, obtained on November 19, 2002, with the ISAAC multi-mode instrument on the 8.2-m VLT ANTU telescope at the ESO Paranal Observatory (Chile).  The satellites are from the top to bottom: Titania, Umbriel, Portia (very faint), Miranda, Puck (very faint), Ariel and Oberon. Uranus is located at a distance of about 3,000 million km, or 20 times the distance between the Sun and the Earth. The contrast between the rings and the planet is strongly enhanced.