Uranus's small moons are dark, red, and water-poor

The ice giant Uranus is pictured shining against the blackness of space. Its blue surface is marked by lighter clouds and an equatorial band, while a large pale cloud hovers over its polar region.

This article was originally published at Eos. The publication contributed the article to Space.com's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.

The solar system's oddball planet has some pretty odd moons, too. The first infrared spectra of Uranus's small inner moons, which will be presented on 18 December at the 2025 AGU Annual Meeting in New Orleans, have shown that their surfaces are much redder, much darker, and more water-poor than the larger moons orbiting far from the planet.