Overview

• Two independent studies report that Uranus releases about 12.5–15% more energy than it absorbs from the Sun, overturning previous assumptions.
• The finding directly contradicts the sole 1986 Voyager 2 flyby measurement that indicated almost no internal warmth on the ice giant.
• Researchers conclude the excess heat likely originates from leftover energy deep in Uranus’s core slowly escaping as the planet cools.
• The Planetary Science Decadal Survey has responded by naming a dedicated Uranus probe as a flagship mission priority.
• Scientists emphasize that an orbital spacecraft and atmospheric probe are essential to map Uranus’s interior structure and refine models of ice-giant and exoplanet evolution.