6 More Uranus Moons Found

The Voyager 2 spacecraft, streaking toward a Jan. 24 encounter with Uranus, has discovered six additional moons orbiting the distant planet, Jet Propulsion Laboratory scientists announced today. That doubles the number of known Uranian moons.

The small moons range in size from about 20 to 30 miles in diameter and are in orbits between the outermost of the planet’s nine known rings and the moon Miranda. A JPL spokesperson said still additional moons are expected to be discovered as the spacecraft sends back images prior to its encounter with the planet.