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Title: Researchers Solve Long-Standing Mystery After Voyager's 1986 Flyby of
Uranus

Link: https://science.slashdot.org/story/25/08/16/2...

"The planet Uranus emits more heat than it gets from the Sun," reports
Science Daily , citing a new study led by University of Houston researchers,
in collaboration with planetary scientists worldwide. "This means it's still
slowly losing leftover heat from its early history," says the first author on
the paper, "a key piece of the puzzle that helps us understand its origins
and how it has changed over time." The study found the planet emitting about
12.5% more heat than it absorbs via sunlight, which "suggests Uranus does
have its own internal heat - an advance that not only informs NASA's future
missions but also deepens scientists' understanding of planetary systems,
including processes that influence Earth's climate and atmospheric
evolution." The discovery resolves a long-standing scientific mystery about
the giant planet, because observational analyses from Voyager 2 in 1986
didn't suggest the presence of significant internal heat - contradicting
scientists' understanding of how giant planets form and evolve...
Additionally, the team's methodology provides testable theories and models
that could also be applied to explore radiant energy of other planets within
and beyond our solar system... It could even impact technology innovation and
climate understanding on Earth [giving insights intoi "the fundamental
processes that shape planetary atmospheres, weather systems and climate
systems," said one of the paper's authors.] The article adds that the
researchers now think the planet "may have a different interior structure or
evolutionary history compared to the other giant planets."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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