Gas giant

:This article refers to a astronomical phenomenon. For the rock band, see Gas Giants

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A gas giant is a large planet that is not composed mostly of rock or other solid matter. Gas giants may still have a rocky or metallic core—in fact, it is expected that such a core is probably required for a gas giant to form—but the majority of its mass is in the form of gas (or gas compressed into a liquid state). Unlike rocky planets, gas giants do not have a well-defined surface. Terms like diameter, surface area, volume, surface temperature and surface density may refer to the outermost layer visible from outside, e.g. from the Earth.

Related Topics:
Planet - Rock - Matter - Gas

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There are four gas giants in our solar system: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. These are also known as the Jovian planets.

Related Topics:
Solar system - Jupiter - Saturn - Uranus - Neptune - Jovian planet

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Uranus and Neptune have been referred by scientists in the past as a separate subclass of giant planets, ice giant or Uranian planets due to their structure made mostly of ice and rock and gas, which differs from the "traditional" gas giant such as Jupiter or Saturn. This is because their proportion in hydrogen and helium is much lower than the latter's, mostly because of their greater distance from the Sun.

Related Topics:
Ice giant - Ice - Rock

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