NASA's Webb maps Uranus's upper atmosphere in 3D for the first time

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has mapped the vertical structure of Uranus's upper atmosphere for the first time, the European Space Agency (ESA) said on February 19, 2026. Webb's NIRSpec instrument observed Uranus for nearly a full rotation on January 19, 2025, and traced temperatures and charged particles up to 5,000 kilometers above the cloud tops. The data show two bright auroral bands near the magnetic poles and an upper atmosphere that averages about 426 kelvins (about 150 degrees Celsius) and is still cooling, a trend that began in the early 1990s. The study, led by Paola Tiranti of Northumbria University, was published in Geophysical Research Letters. Video Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA, CSA, STScI, P. Tiranti, H. Melin, M. Zamani (ESA/Webb)