"Surprising Discovery: Composition of Uranus and Neptune Reconsidered in New Study"

A new study suggests that Uranus and Neptune may contain tons of methane ice in addition to frozen water, challenging previous beliefs about their composition. The findings could help solve a puzzle about how these icy worlds formed, as they coalesced from planetesimals rich in carbon. The study's authors built models of the planets' interiors and found that those with methane fit their criteria, with the methane forming a thick layer between the hydrogen-helium envelope and the water layer. This methane could have formed when hydrogen in the growing planets chemically reacted with the carbon in the planetesimals they accreted. Verifying if Uranus and Neptune are actually rich in methane would be challenging, but could be a goal for proposed missions from space agencies.