New Study Hints Uranus and Neptune Hide Magma Oceans, Not Ice

A UCLA-led study using computer models proposes that Uranus and Neptune may have interior magma oceans rather than icy mantles, with a layered structure of a hydrogen/helium atmosphere, a boundary layer containing H/He/Mg/SiO/O, and a bottom magma ocean of silicate and iron. This challenges the long-standing “ice giants” label and has implications for understanding similar sub-Neptune exoplanets, while noting proposed future missions (Uranus Orbiter and Probe, Neptune Odyssey) and ongoing interest in these worlds.