Astronomy Magazine

Gas Giants

Posted on the 18 April 2011 by Gabe12logan
Gas giants are a kind of planet, which, unlike the stone or the terrestrial planets, don't have a clearly defined area. Therefore, it is not possible in a simple way to define the diameter, area, volume and surface temperature, so the diameter is the one who is visible from Earth, or is defined as the diameter of the planet on which there is a certain atmospheric pressure. In the solar system are 4 gas giants Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.
Gas Giants
Far from the Sun, where it was cooler, outer planets are able to retain most of its gas, which are now mostly liquid or frozen. Gases that were retained gave them even greater gravity, and collecting the remaining gas and dust in the disk faster than the inner planets grew even larger. Gas Giants are mainly composed of the original solar nebula material and they are too far from the Sun, because the gas and dust would evaporate in the hot inner solar system.
There is no clear dividing point between the surface and the atmosphere of gas giants. If one could sink deep enough into a Gas Giant, they may might find rock hard surfaces that are gases under intense cold and pressure. One may also find familiar rock and metal in the core.

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