Blackbody Radiation from Isolated Neptunes

Understand

Recent analyses of the orbits of some Kuiper Belt objects hypothesize the presence of an undiscovered Neptune-size planet at a very large separation from the Sun.

• The energy budget of Neptunes on such distant orbits is dominated by the internal heat released by their cooling rather than solar irradiation (making them effectively "isolated").
• The blackbody radiation that these planets emit as they cool may provide the means for their detection.
• Here we use an analytical toy model to study the cooling and radiation of isolated Neptunes.