The Rings of Uranus and Neptune Could Help map Their Interiors

It's hard to map the interior of the ice giants. Their constant ice cover makes it difficult to see what lies underneath. Scientists need to come up with more innovative ways to see what is inside them. A team from the University of Idaho, Cal Tech, Reed College, and the University of Arizona may have come up with a way to look at the rings of Neptune and Uranus.

Scientists have used similar techniques before. Attempts have been made to use photometry to detect changes on the planet. The density of the planet's interior can be correlated with the frequencies of those oscillations. The photometry data we have of the ice giants so far have proved insufficient to determine the same density profiles.

It is possible to use the planet's surface as a substitute. There is a type of pattern called a normal mode. This pattern occurs when parts of a system start to move in the same direction. The rings themselves can be seen reflecting the effects of normal mode oscillations in the planet.

It isn't the first time patterns in a planet's rings have been used to calculate density There is a better understanding of the ring system of Saturn than there is of Neptune or Uranus. Scientists have been analyzing the seismology on the ring system with data from the two ships. The result is a better understanding of some of the normal modes of the planet's interior and an estimate of the makeup of the planet's core.

There are different rings for Neptune and Uranus, but they are not as well studied. There are some rings that are corralled. According to the new paper, the same density reflections of resonance waves can be found in the ice giant's ring systems.

The inner shepherd moons could also be affected by the same resonances. A Lindblad resonance is a moon's own resonance. Lindblad resonances drive spiral density waves which can be seen in many spiral galaxies. The same effect occurs on planetary ring systems at a much smaller scale.

There isn't enough data to use the resonances reflected in the rings. The full scope of the ring system has not been mapped out yet. It is time to send a probe to the ice giants to map the ring systems, moons, and other recently discovered objects that are so hard to see from the Earth. We will have to wait to fully understand the interiors and ring system of these cold, barren worlds. We will have a framework to help shed light on these dark places when we send a probe out that way.

You can learn more.

The Ring Seismology of the Ice Giants is done by A'Hearn and his team.

UT is about the rings of Neptune.

Which planets have rings?

UT, how many rings does the sun have?