Overview
- University of Zurich researchers report model solutions in which Neptune contains over 50% rock and Uranus reaches about 61% silicate by mass.
- The team combined physical and empirical approaches in a multi‑step algorithm that iterates density profiles constrained by observed mass, radius, rotation and gravity.
- The results place the magnetic dynamos in relatively shallow, electrically conducting layers—around 70% of Uranus’s radius and roughly 78–92% of Neptune’s.
- The authors stress major uncertainties persist because material behavior under extreme pressures and temperatures is poorly constrained, which can sway model outcomes.
- With only Voyager 2 flybys to date, current data cannot discriminate between ice‑rich and rock‑rich scenarios; the study appears in Astronomy & Astrophysics (DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/202556911) and urges targeted missions.