Abstract
This paper is concerned with the interior structure of Uranus and Neptune. Our approach is three-fold. First, a set of three-layer models for both Uranus and Neptune are constructed using a method similar to that used in the study of the terrestrial planets. The variations of the mass density ϱ(s) and flattening e(s) with fractional mean radius s for two representative models of Uranus and Neptune are calculated. The results are tabulated. A comparison of these models shows that these two planets are probably very similar to each other in their basic dynamical features. Such similarity is very seldom seen in our solar system. Secondly, we check the conformance between the theoretical results and observational data for the two planets. And thirdly, the 6th degree Stokes zonal parameters for Uranus and for Neptune are predicted, based on the interior models put forward in this paper.
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Zhang, C.Z. Uranus and Neptune interior models. Earth Moon Planet 75, 17–24 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00056285
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00056285