Uranus and Neptune are called ice giants. That’s because of their icy cores. But each of these planets may be hiding a deep ocean.
Burkhard Militzer is an astronomer. He has published new research on these planets. It ran in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on November 25. He used a computer program to model the planets. The models revealed a surprise: Uranus and Neptune each seem to have a layer of water. The water appears to be beneath the clouds in their outer atmosphere. These oceans could be 5,000 miles deep.
A NASA mission to Uranus could confirm that the planet’s ocean exists. The mission isn’t yet set. But on its website, NASA says such a mission may be “a focus of planetary science” soon.
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