US EditionNew Findings Suggest Uranus and Neptune Are Not What They Seem
The study finds both rock-rich and ice-rich interiors fit data, challenging the ice giant label and showing Uranus and Neptune could have up to a 100-fold difference in rock-to-water ratios.
- University of Zurich researchers Morf and Helled argue in Astronomy & Astrophysics that Uranus and Neptune can be as compatible with rock-rich interiors as with ice-rich ones.
- With no orbiter to map interiors, researchers relied on Voyager 2 data and built agnostic interior models because physics-based and empirical interior models proved limited.
- Starting with randomized density models, the team generated many random density profiles and computed modeled gravity fields, vetting each for gravity match, hydrostatic balance, and plausible temperature/composition.
- The results reveal a wide range of viable interiors, with Neptune's range scaling from about 0.20 to almost 1.8 and Uranus's rock-to-water mass ratios from about 0.04 up to nearly four, while textbook 'ice giant' diagrams may overstate ice layers.
- This perspective echoes findings on Pluto and other bodies, as Ravit Helled says the idea was first suggested nearly 15 years ago and future orbiters could take many years.
11 Articles
11 Articles
New Findings Suggest Uranus and Neptune Are Not What They Seem
The Solar System is usually grouped into three main types of planets based on what they are made of: the four rocky terrestrial worlds (Mercury, Venus, Earth ,and Mars), the two massive gas giants (Jupiter and Saturn), and the pair of ice giants (Uranus and Neptune). New research from a scientific team at the University [...]
Uranus and Neptune are giant planets at the edge of our solar system - and commonly known as ice giants. Maybe this picture is not true at all, Swiss researchers have calculated.
For a long time, the two planets Uranus and Neptune were considered to be the outer ice giants of the solar system. However, their nature could be much more rocky than previously assumed.
Uranus and Neptune could contain a lot of rock inside. A study by the University of Zurich questions the image of the ice giants.
Almost 40 years ago, during the 1980s, Voyager 2 provided us with information on the magnetic field and the field of gravity of Uranus and Neptune. They allowed us to deduce credible models from within these planets. But the planetologist Ravit...
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 80% of the sources are Center
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
