cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/48332762
A new analysis of decades’ worth of observations has revealed that Uranus does indeed emit more heat than it receives from the rays of the Sun.
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/48332762
A new analysis of decades’ worth of observations has revealed that Uranus does indeed emit more heat than it receives from the rays of the Sun.
So what causes this? The article doesn’t really say. Even though other gas giants do this too. What’s the theory on this?
The innuendo was kind of fun for a few comments, but thank you for finally asking the question that was the reason I opened this thread.
They don’t seem to have a working theory yet, they just noticed the historical temps are higher than expected. Exited to see what more research reveals!
Could there somehow be a new form of life on uranus causing it to be hotter than expected?
i assume nuclear decay processes in its interior
i.e. uranium decays into lead and that process releases some heat continuously for a very long time
it also happens on earth, though i don’t have any exact number for it. AFAIK, it’s what keeps the earth’s interior warm. otherwise it would have cooled down a lot more since the earth formed a few billion years ago.
That all makes sense.
But if the inner planets do this too, then why is it such a mystery? Sounds like every planet does this then.