August 19, 2025 — Southwest Research Institute led a James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) survey, discovering a previously unknown tiny moon orbiting Uranus. A team led by SwRI’s Dr. Maryame El Moutamid discovered the small object in a series of images taken on Feb. 2, 2025, bringing Uranus’ total moon count to 29.

“As part of JWST’s guest observer program, we found a previously unknown satellite of the ice giant, which has been provisionally designated S/2025 U 1,” said El Moutamid, a lead scientist in SwRI’s Solar System Science and Exploration Division in Boulder, Colorado. “This object, by far the smallest object discovered to date, was detected in a series of 10 long exposures obtained by the Near-Infrared Camera.”

Located in the outer solar system, Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun. Known as “the sideways planet” for its extreme axial tilt, the cyan-colored ice giant has a deep atmosphere composed of hydrogen, helium and methane. Scientists think Uranus' larger moons are roughly equal parts water ice and silicate rock.