Since the 1986 Voyager probe flew past Uranus, scientists have believed that planet had 27 moons. Now, a new analysis holds that the planet may have two more moons orbiting close.

Matthew Hedman and Rob Chancia, two planetary scientists from the University of Idaho, re-examined the old data acquired by the Voyager 2 spacecraft. They noticed the forms in two of Uranus's dark system of rings. According to the report, the patterns found may be indicative of two more undiscovered moons orbiting the planet.

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Hedman and Chancia stated in their research that the rings exhibited a sequence of wavy patterns consistent with the presence of two small moons. They assume that this patterns may be generated by the small moons orbiting the exterior of Uranus's rings.

The possibility of two undiscovered moons prompted plans to inspect Uranus using the Hubble Space Telescope. Hedman and Chancia said that if the suspected moons exist, they would be small and dark which could explain why the Voyager 2 failed to detect them.

Uranus is already difficult to observe directly because its 20 more times farther from the sun than earth. This is why the discovery was interesting for both Hedman and Chancia. The Voyager 2 initially found ten moons when it last visited the planet back in 1986.

The Hubble Space Telescope was able to spot Pluto's four smallest moons, leading scientist to assume it could detect the suspected moons in Uranus as well. Hedman told New Scientists that if a Hubble fails to provide further data for analysis, an orbiter could someday succeed. If in the worst, he suggested to rule out the existence of 2 undiscovered moons altogether.