The interiors of Uranus and Neptune may be rockier than scientists previously thought, a new computational model suggests — challenging the idea that the planets should be called “ice giants.”
The new study, published Dec. 10 in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics, may also help to explain the planets’ puzzling magnetic fields.
Uranus and Neptune are relatively large planets at the edge of the solar system; Neptune is the most distant planet, orbiting at 2.8 billion miles (4.5 billion kilometers) from the sun, on average. The extremely cold temperatures at these distances cause gases such as hydrogen, helium and water to condense into compressed ice slurries that form the planets’ cores. As such, these planets have become known as ice giants.
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