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It is likely that Uranus has a core of rock somewhere between the sizes of Earth and Earth’s moon. Unlike Jupiter or Saturn, Uranus has a uniform composition with no internal layering. Uranus, because of its distance from the Sun, actually radiates more heat than it receives—a release of heat from the convection of liquid hydrogen in the planetary core. Because Uranus “lies on its side,” its south pole is the closest to the sun during a part of its orbit, thus causing polar regions to absorb more energy than equatorial ones. The planet’s interior is primarily composed of methane ice. |