News Planetary Science

Uranus emits more heat than previously thought

All four of the sun’s giant planets emit more energy than they receive from the sun

A thin aquamarine crescent of Uranus against a uniformly black background

Like the sun’s other giant worlds, Uranus (seen in this 1986 photo from the Voyager 2 spacecraft) radiates more energy than the sun gives it, though not nearly as strongly as its massive peers do.

JPL/NASA

By Ken Croswell

Uranus emits more energy than it gets from the sun, two new studies report — a discovery that contradicts findings from the venerable Voyager spacecraft.