Astronomers have come across what appears to be two undiscovered moons lurking near the icy planet Uranus.

After re-examining data captured by the Voyager 2 spacecraft in 1986, scientists say , according to Science Alert.

The image above is a view of Uranus recorded by Voyager 2 on January 25, 1986, as the spacecraft left the planet behind and set forth on the cruise to Neptune.

(NASA/JPL)

At a Glance

After reviewing images of Uranus from 1986, scientists believe the icy planet has two hidden dark moons. These moons may be the cause of a wavy pattern seen on two of the planet's rings.

The solar system’s third-largest planet already has 27 moons. However, the two new ones appear to orbit the planet more closely than any of its other natural satellites, which is causing wavy patterns in its closest rings.

“These patterns may be ,” the researchers wrote in their research paper. “Based on the observed structures in the rings, we estimate that the moonlets would need to be located about 100 km exterior to the rings' semi-major axes and be 2-7 km in radius. Such moonlets could help keep the rings confined.”

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“,” researcher and paper co-author Rob Chancia told New Scientist. They’re likely smaller than any Uranian satellite known.

Because the moons are so tiny and dark, the scientists believe they likely blended into the background for Voyager 2, which is why the spacecraft didn’t detect them as it whizzed by, Science Alert also reports. Because they’re dark, they don’t reflect any light.

Mark Showalter of the SETI Institute told New Scientist that the existence of the two moons is “certainly a very plausible possibility.”

Using the Hubble Space Telescope, Showalter and his colleagues will observe Uranus. Showalter calls the massive telescope the “best bet” for finding the Uranian satellites.

If the Hubble fails, an orbiter would be the next best method of observation.

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