Scientists agree the climate on this planet should be studied: “I think it strengthens the case for a mission to Uranus”

The seventh planet from the Sun and the third largest in our solar system has only been visited by a human spacecraft once, when NASA’s Voyager 2 probe made a flyby in 1986. The readings that that spacecraft sent back contradicted what scientists understood about the formation and evolution of giant planets.

Unlike the other gas giants Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune, the observational analysis from Voyager 2 suggested that Uranus didn’t produce significant heat. However, a team of researchers, after pouring over decades of spacecraft observations and computer models, discovered that the “ice giant” is actually releasing significantly more heat than it receives from the Sun.

“Ice giant” Uranus is warmer than thought

In a paper published in Geophysical Research Letters, the team of scientists said that Uranus is emitting roughly 12.5% more heat than it absorbs from sunlight. This is far less than the 100% or more that Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune emit, but is still significant.

“This means it’s still slowly losing leftover heat from its early history, a key piece of the puzzle that helps us understand its origins and how it has changed over time,” explained Xinyue Wang, the lead author on the paper and a former doctoral student of the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Houston.

She also pointed out that their research shows that the energy levels coming from Uranus fluctuate with its 20-year-long seasons. Wang said that this is probably the result of its tilted spin, the most extreme of any planet in the solar system at 98 degrees, along with its off-center orbit.

“From a scientific perspective, this study helps us better understand Uranus and other giant planets. For future space exploration, I think it strengthens the case for a mission to Uranus,” Wang said in a statement.

Co-author and professor in the Department of Physics at UH, Liming Li, noted that their findings could be used to improve NASA planning for a mission to orbit and probe Uranus. It has been deemed as the space agency’s highest priority and may shed light on how atmospheric systems function on other planets including Earth.

“By uncovering how Uranus stores and loses heat, we gain valuable insights into the fundamental processes that shape planetary atmospheres, weather systems and climate systems. These findings help broaden our perspective on Earth’s atmospheric system and the challenges of climate change,” Li shared in a statement.

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