Overview
- University of Zurich researchers report that both planets fit either water-rich or rock-rich interior solutions within current observational uncertainties.
- The framework generates random interior density profiles and iteratively matches gravity data to produce physically consistent models.
- Permitted rock-to-water mass ratios range from roughly 0.04 to nearly 4 for Uranus and about 0.20 to just under 2 for Neptune.
- Models feature ionic-water layers that can host off-center magnetic dynamos, with Uranus’ field originating deeper than Neptune’s.
- The peer-reviewed study in Astronomy & Astrophysics urges dedicated missions and improved high-pressure equations of state to resolve the compositional ambiguity.