New study links ice giant magnetic fields to deep interior conductivity changes
Researchers from The University of Texas at Austin and other institutions published a study in Communications Physics explaining how electrical conductivity shifts inside Uranus and Neptune create their disordered magnetic fields.
Voyager probes revealed strange anomalies
NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft flew past Uranus and Neptune during the 1980s. The robotic probe found that these planets have highly disordered magnetic fields unlike Earth. Their magnetic arrangements do not resemble a simple bar magnet with clear north and south poles.
Tilted axes complicate planetary dynamos
Earth's magnetic dipole tilts only 11 degrees relative to its rotational axis. Uranus shows a tilt of 59 degrees while Neptune tilts by 47 degrees. Scientists believe convection of molten iron on Earth creates an upright field, but different interiors drive the ice giants.
Conductivity changes explain the fields
New research suggests changes in electrical conductivity deep inside these worlds are key. The study details how moving electrically conducting fluids generate magnetic fields through a natural process called a dynamo. This mechanism accounts for the unusual evolution of the planets over time.
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