study<\/a> submitted to The Astrophysical Journal, the researchers share new insight into the interior structure of the two planets, which they believe could be used to study sub-Neptune exoplanets in the galaxy.<\/p>\n A case of mistaken identity <\/p>\n
NASA\u2019s Voyager 2 remains the only spacecraft to have visited Uranus and Neptune. On January 24, 1986, Voyager zipped by within 50,640 miles (81,500 kilometers) of Uranus\u2019 cloud tops, discovering 11 new moons and two new rings around the planet. Later on August 25, 1989, the spacecraft swooped past Neptune\u2019s north pole, discovering six new moons and four ring arcs.<\/p>\n
Most of what we know about the two planets is largely based on that one flyby, and both worlds remain shrouded in mystery to this day. As the least explored planets in the solar system, the two planets have never been thoroughly investigated. Therefore, scientists aren\u2019t sure where the planets originally formed in the early solar system or the reason for their wildly chaotic magnetic fields.<\/p>\n
A long-standing hypothesis suggests that both worlds have a hydrogen\/helium atmosphere that covers a vast mantle of ices, made primarily of water, ammonia, and methane, with a rocky core.<\/p>\n
The new study, however, notes that the three-layer model of an ice giant\u2019s interior structure is not the only way to explain the properties of the two planets. The researchers also point out that objects found in the Kuiper Belt, which are thought to preserve evidence of the material in the outer Solar System where Uranus and Neptune formed, are primarily composed of rock rather than ice.<\/p>\n
Ice giants no more? <\/p>\n
For the recent study, the researchers simulated different models for the interior processes and composition of Uranus and Neptune. The model that best fits Uranus\u2019s and Neptune\u2019s different properties suggests the two planets have a well-mixed magma ocean with dissolved hydrogen at the bottom and a hydrogen-dominated envelope at the top.<\/p>\n
The model suggests that at high pressures, hydrogen gas can dissolve into magma, forming a well-mixed fluid. This mixing might help explain Uranus\u2019s and Neptune\u2019s density, which has traditionally been interpreted as evidence for an ice-rich interior.<\/p>\n
So, do the researchers denounce Uranus and Neptune\u2019s long-held classification as ice giants and hail them as magma giants instead? That may take a little longer to stick.<\/p>\n
The recent findings could also help scientists understand the interior structure of sub-Neptune planets in the Milky Way, which have thus far remained a mystery.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Before the Voyager 2 flyby of Uranus and Neptune, these two distant planets were thought to be cold,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":555840,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[77],"tags":[18,19,17,25574,133,10214,10612],"class_list":["post-555839","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-science","tag-eire","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-neptune","tag-science","tag-solar-system","tag-uranus"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116818331937098714","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/555839","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=555839"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/555839\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/555840"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=555839"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=555839"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=555839"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}