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The smallest known extrasolar planet that is likely a "gas planet" is Kepler-138d, which has the same mass as Earth but is 60% larger and therefore has a density that indicates a thick gas envelope. [16] A low-mass gas planet can still have a radius resembling that of a gas giant if it has the right temperature. [17]
According to the IAU's explicit count, there are eight planets in the Solar System; four terrestrial planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars) and four giant planets, which can be divided further into two gas giants (Jupiter and Saturn) and two ice giants (Uranus and Neptune). When excluding the Sun, the four giant planets account for more than ...
Neptune brightened about 10% between 1980 and 2000 mostly due to the changing of the seasons. [177] Neptune may continue to brighten as it approaches perihelion in 2042. The apparent magnitude currently ranges from 7.67 to 7.89 with a mean of 7.78 and a standard deviation of 0.06. [18] Prior to 1980, the planet was as faint as magnitude 8.0. [18]
The ice giants Uranus and Neptune live up to their name. Although humans have only ever sent one spacecraft (Voyager 2) toward these far-flung worlds, scientists have a pretty good idea that these ...
The resonance in which Saturn is captured, a 3:2 or a 2:1 resonance, [14] [15] and the extent of the outward migration (if any) depends on the physical properties of the gas disk and the amount of gas accreted by the planets.
Sudarsky's classification of gas giants for the purpose of predicting their appearance based on their temperature was outlined by David Sudarsky and colleagues in the paper Albedo and Reflection Spectra of Extrasolar Giant Planets [1] and expanded on in Theoretical Spectra and Atmospheres of Extrasolar Giant Planets, [2] published before any successful direct or indirect observation of an ...
Also, these stars have high UV radiation and winds that could photoevaporate the gas in the disk, leaving just the heavy elements. [62] For comparison, Neptune's mass equals 17 Earth masses, Jupiter has 318 Earth masses, and the 13-Jupiter-mass limit used in the IAU's working definition of an exoplanet equals approximately 4000 Earth masses. [62]
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