Lick Observatory, Mt.Hamilton, California		W. M. Keck Observatory, Hawaii

URANUS: NEW RING R/2003 U 2

Keck image of one of the newly-discovered uranian rings. This ring, R/2003 U 2, was first detected in visible-light HST images by M. Showalter and J. Lissauer on 25 August 2003. When the ring inclination angle became more favorable (rings more edge-on), I. de Pater, H. B. Hammel, and S. Gibbard were able to capture this ring on 23 August 2005 with the 10-m W. M. Keck II telescope on Mauna Kea, Hawaii, at a wavelength of 2 microns. They used the NIRC2 near-infrared camera coupled to the Keck adaptive optics system. The image shows part of Uranus, the main uranian ring system, and the new ring R/2003 U 2. This ring is much fainter than the main rings, and is only detectable at its ansa (outer edge) in an enhanced image (lower part of the picture). The ring lies just outside the main ring system of Uranus, as indicated using a dashed white line in the upper panel. (Image Credit: I. de Pater, H. B. Hammel, S. Gibbard, and M. Showalter)

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