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Uranus and Neptune, long thought to be water-rich planets, may have a significant amount of methane ice, according to a recent study.
The study's findings could reshape our understanding of the formation and composition of the ice giants Uranus and Neptune.
Voyager 2's flyby in the 1980s provided our only direct data on Uranus and Neptune, leaving much about them unknown.
Scientists have traditionally believed Uranus and Neptune to be composed of hydrogen, helium, and superionic water and ammonia layers.
New models by researchers suggest that the icy giants may have accreted planetesimals rich in carbon, like today's comets from the Kuiper Belt.
The study's lead author, Uri Malamud, utilised advanced algorithms to create hundreds of thousands of interior models for Uranus and Neptune.
Methane, either solid or mushy, could form a thick layer between the hydrogen-helium envelope and the water layer in the planets.
NASA and other space agencies are considering missions to explore Uranus, aiming to verify the methane-rich hypothesis and gain further insights into the mysterious ice giants.
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