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Collection:
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NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day Collection
Collection
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day Collection
Collection
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Title:
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Ringed Planet Uranus
Title
Ringed Planet Uranus
Title
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Explanation:
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Yes it does look like Saturn, but Saturn is only one of four [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] giant [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] ringed [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] planets [ http://ringmaster.a…] in our Solar System. And while Saturn has the brightest rings, this system of rings and moons actually belongs to planet Uranus, imaged here [ http://www.eso.org/…phot-31-02.html ] in near-infrared light by the Antu [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] telescope at the ESO Paranal Observatory in Chile. Since gas giant Uranus' [ http://www.seds.org…] methane-laced atmosphere absorbs sunlight at near-infrared wavelengths the planet appears substantially darkened, improving the contrast between the otherwise relatively bright planet and the normally faint rings. In fact, the narrow Uranian rings [ http://ringmaster.a…uranus.html ] are all but impossible to see in visible light with earthbound telescopes and were discovered [ http://tdc-www.harv…uranus25/ ] only in 1977 as careful astronomers noticed the then unknown rings blocking light from background stars. The rings are thought to be younger than 100 million years and may be formed of debris from the collision of a small moon with a passing comet or asteroid-like object. With moons [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] named for characters [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] in Shakespeare's plays, the distant ringed world Uranus [ http://vraptor.jpl.…] was last visited in 1986 by the Voyager 2 spacecraft.
Explanation
Yes it does look like Saturn, but Saturn is only one of four [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] giant [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] ringed [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] planets [ http://ringmaster.a…] in our Solar System. And while Saturn has the brightest rings, this system of rings and moons actually belongs to planet Uranus, imaged here [ http://www.eso.org/…phot-31-02.html ] in near-infrared light by the Antu [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] telescope at the ESO Paranal Observatory in Chile. Since gas giant Uranus' [ http://www.seds.org…] methane-laced atmosphere absorbs sunlight at near-infrared wavelengths the planet appears substantially darkened, improving the contrast between the otherwise relatively bright planet and the normally faint rings. In fact, the narrow Uranian rings [ http://ringmaster.a…uranus.html ] are all but impossible to see in visible light with earthbound telescopes and were discovered [ http://tdc-www.harv…uranus25/ ] only in 1977 as careful astronomers noticed the then unknown rings blocking light from background stars. The rings are thought to be younger than 100 million years and may be formed of debris from the collision of a small moon with a passing comet or asteroid-like object. With moons [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] named for characters [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] in Shakespeare's plays, the distant ringed world Uranus [ http://vraptor.jpl.…] was last visited in 1986 by the Voyager 2 spacecraft. Explanation
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Credit and Copyright:
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Credit_and_Copyright
Credit and Copyright
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keyword:
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rings
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keyword:
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uranus
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keyword:
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moons
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facet_when:
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1986
facet_when
1986
facet_when
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facet_when:
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1977
facet_when
1977
facet_when
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facet_where:
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Saturn
facet_where
Saturn
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Uranus
facet_where
Uranus
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Chile
facet_where
Chile
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Paris
facet_where
Paris
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)
facet_where
Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
facet_where
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
facet_where
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facet_what:
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Voyager
facet_what
Voyager
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Moon
facet_what
Moon
facet_what
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facet_what:
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ESO
facet_what
ESO
facet_what
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facet_what:
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VLT
facet_what
VLT
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Saturn
facet_what
Saturn
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Voyager 2
facet_what
Voyager 2
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Neptune
facet_what
Neptune
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Visible Light
facet_what
Visible Light
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Uranus
facet_what
Uranus
facet_what
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facet_what:
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YES
facet_what
YES
facet_what
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facet_when_year:
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1986
facet_when_year
1986
facet_when_year
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facet_when_year:
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1977
facet_when_year
1977
facet_when_year
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original url:
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original_url
original url
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UID:
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SPD-APOD-ap030115
UID
SPD-APOD-ap030115
UID
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