The Planets.com

Planet Uranus Black Rings Return to Uranus

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.