09 – ALMA Top 10: Planetary Rings of Uranus ‘Glow’ in Cold Light

Using the both ALMA Observatory and the Very Large Telescope in Chile, astronomers have imaged the cold, rock-strewn rings encircling the planet Uranus. Rather than observing the reflected sunlight from these rings, ALMA and the VLT imaged the millimeter and mid-infrared “glow” naturally emitted by the frigidly cold particles of the rings themselves.