Scientists Detect Carbon Monoxide on Uranus, Pointing to Ice-Rich Interior
Updated
Updated · New Scientist · Jun 24
Scientists Detect Carbon Monoxide on Uranus, Pointing to Ice-Rich Interior
2 articles · Updated · New Scientist · Jun 24
Summary
Carbon monoxide has been detected in Uranus’s lower atmosphere for the first time, giving fresh evidence that the planet’s interior contains far more water ice than previously thought.
Three ALMA observations from 2022 to 2024 found significant lower-atmosphere carbon monoxide, and researchers said only ice-rich interior models could reproduce the measured amounts.
The finding could narrow a long-running debate over whether Uranus formed differently from Neptune, whose abundant carbon monoxide had already pointed to an ice-rich center.
Carbon monoxide was also seen in Uranus’s upper atmosphere, but researchers said that signal likely came from an external source—possibly a comet impact centuries ago.
Some scientists cautioned the result does not fully settle Uranus’s makeup because atmospheric chemistry, mixing and interior-structure models still allow multiple rock-to-ice ratios.