Skip to main content
Reserve Free Passes Membership
Visit
  • Visit

  • National Air and Space Museum in DC
  • Udvar-Hazy Center in VA
  • Plan a Field Trip
  • Plan a Group Visit
View of the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center tower at sunset

One museum, two locations

Visit us in Washington, DC and Chantilly, VA to explore hundreds of the world’s most significant objects in aviation and space history. Free timed-entry passes are required for the Museum in DC.

What's On
  • What's On

  • Events
  • Exhibitions
  • IMAX and Planetarium
Apollo 11: Buzz Aldrin on the Moon

At the museum and online

Discover our exhibitions and participate in programs both in person or virtually.

Explore
  • Explore

  • Stories
  • Topics
  • Collections
  • On Demand
  • For Researchers
space shuttle launch

Dive deep into air and space

Browse our collections, stories, research, and on demand content.

Learn
  • Learn

  • Programs
  • Learning Resources
  • Plan a Field Trip
  • Professional Development
Women in Aviation and Space Family Day

For teachers and parents

Bring the Air and Space Museum to your learners, wherever you are.

Give
  • Give

  • Donate
  • Become a Member
  • Wall of Honor
  • Ways to Give
  • Host an Event
Bob Hoover Gives an Air Show Performance

Be the spark

Your support will help fund exhibitions, educational programming, and preservation efforts.

Discovery of the Rings Around Uranus

  1. Breadcrumb Home
  2. Multimedia Gallery
  3. Discovery of The Rings Around Uranus
  • A handwritten letter describing the discovery of rings around Uranus next to a chart demonstrating the discovery. Both are in a display case.
    Download Image

    On the lefthand side of this display case from the Museum's exhibition Exploring the Planets is a letter from Jim Elliot to the Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams (CBAT) reporting the discovery of rings around the planet Uranus. Elliot was aboard the Kuiper Airborne Observatory. On the righthand side is a graph of light from the star SAO 158687 based on data recorded on board the Kuiper Airborne Observatory. The light intensity dips where the rings of Uranus passed in front of the star. 

  • A handwritten letter describing the discovery of rings around Uranus next to a chart demonstrating the discovery. Both are in a display case.

ID#:

NASM2023-02167

Source:

Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum

Copyright/Owner:

Smithsonian Institution

Rights Usage:

Usage conditions apply

Terms of Use:

Smithsonian Terms of Use

For print or commercial use please see permissions information.

Admission is always free.
Open daily 10:00 am – 5:30 pm

National Air and Space Museum

National Air and Space Museum 650 Jefferson Drive SW
Washington, DC

202-633-2214

Free Timed-Entry Passes Required

Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center

Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center 14390 Air and Space Museum Parkway
Chantilly, VA 20151

703-572-4118

  • About
  • Become a Member
  • Newsroom
  • Host an Event
  • Get Involved
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Terms of Use
  • Accessibility