The greenish color of Uranus' atmosphere is due to methane and high-altitude photochemical smog. Voyager 2 acquired this view of the seventh planet while departing the Uranian system in late January 1986. This image looks at the planet approximately along its rotational pole.

This image reveals many broad lanes of dust surrounding the 9 main rings of Uranus. It was taken by Voyager 2 looking back toward the sun through the ring system. The dust is especially bright in this view, for the same reason that we can see dust on a windshield better when we are driving toward the sun. The rings of Uranus are actually very dark; their albedo is only a few percent. The short stubby streaks are stars slightly smeared during the long exposure.

The discovery of two "shepherd" satellites has advanced our understanding of the structure of the Uranian rings. The moons, designated 1986U7 (Cordelia) and 1986U8 (Ophelia), are seen here on either side of the bright epsilon ring and are believed to confine it by their gravitational effects. Inward from the epsilon ring are the delta, gamma, eta, beta and alpha rings. The 4, 5, and 6 rings are barely visible inward from there. The rings have been studied since their discovery in 1977. The epsilon ring appears surrounded by a dark band as a result of the image processing.