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.

  • ryannathans@aussie.zoneEnglish
    5·
    4 days ago

    My thoughts well summarised haha they are gas planets with significant mass. In astrophysics class I am sure they said gases heat up under gravity and stable fusion is obtained if enough heat/gravity/mass. They should still heat in the absence of fusion. I haven’t read the research but I assume that’s accounted for. So is the remaining heat chemical or nuclear? Maybe they have some heavy radioactive elements pumping out heat too? Or stored primordial heat being slowly released?

    • gandalf_der_12te@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
      1·
      4 days ago

      it’s not chemical, that much i can tell you. there was a study done in 1800 iirc where they contemplated what gives the sun its enormous power and they figured out that if the sun was a solid ball of coal burning slowly, it wouldn’t last longer than 200 years iirc, at the enormous rate of power it emits. it’s a nuclear process

      these nuclear processes can be very long-running. uranium takes billions of years to decay. it’s probable that a lot of planets have uranium in their interior and that heats up the planet from the inside.