The Voyager 2 probe was launched almost 50 years ago to explore the Solar System. In 1986, NASA spacecraft reached Uranus and thanks to the instruments on board, we were able to learn a little more about a distant planet with rings and moons yet to be discovered.
Recently, according to Urban Technoa study has been published in the scientific journal Journal of Geophysical Research in which it is indicated the presence of oceans on four of the moons surrounding Uranus.
NASA scientists have used new technologies to create computer models and observe the interior structure of satellites. Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, Oberon and Mirandadiscovering water stored below the surface.
Data from Voyager 2 was used in the study to discover that some of Uranus’ 27 moons are capable of retaining internal heat, which would have been critical to the emergence of oceans miles below the surface of these moons.
There is also heat in the moons
In addition, they have also been found hints of heat sources in the mantle of the moons Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon, which are the ones that seem to house an ocean inside. In the case of Miranda, despite the fact that these indications were also found, it seems that this satellite loses heat rapidly, which would cause said ocean to be frozen.
Chlorides and ammonia are very abundant in these oceans, and since the second of these elements is a well-known antifreeze and that there is also salt in its composition, the internal waters of these Uranian moons do not lose their liquid state and end up getting cold. completely.
Internal heat does not seem to be the only cause of the appearance of the liquid element, the researchers insisted. Subsequent studies will seek, in addition to the origin of Uranus’s satellites, to develop new instruments to continue exploring its interior.
