Europa Clipper captures an impressive image of Uranus at more than 3.2 billion kilometers

Seventh planet from the Sun and the third largest in the solar system, Uranus has fascinated astronomers since 1781. With its pale blue color, the photos of this planet are often sublime and can make many people dream. And recently, the Europa Clipper probe captured an image of Uranus from more than 3.2 billion kilometers away, and the result is impressive.

As a reminder, Europa Clipper is a probe launched by NASA in 2024 with the aim of studying Europa, one of Jupiter's moons. Weighing six tons, this device is equipped with various instruments that will allow scientists to study the composition and geology of this celestial object. And this, in order to determine if life exists on this moon. But during its journey, which will last until 2030, this probe was able to capture a striking image.

Using a star tracker camera, Europa Clipper photographed Uranus from more than 3.2 billion kilometers away. In this image, we can see numerous white dots on a grey and black background. As indicated by the various notes, Uranus is located on the left, and the other dots are stars located further away in the universe. 

Furthermore, it is important to consider the surprising fact that this image represents only 0.1% of the sky around this probe. This allows us to imagine the astronomical number of stars and planets in our universe and, consequently, to make a connection with potentially habitable worlds that could be discovered in the years and centuries to come.