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A giant planet, sometimes referred to as a jovian planet (Jove being another name for the Roman god Jupiter), is a diverse type of planet much larger than Earth. Giant planets are usually primarily composed of low-boiling point materials (), rather than rock or other solid matter, but massive solid planets can also exist.
In order from the Sun, they are four terrestrial planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars); two gas giants (Jupiter and Saturn); and two ice giants (Uranus and Neptune). All terrestrial planets have solid surfaces. Inversely, all giant planets do not have a definite surface, as they are mainly composed of gases and liquids. Over 99.86% of the ...
A terrestrial planet, tellurian planet, telluric planet, or rocky planet, is a planet that is composed primarily of silicate, rocks or metals.Within the Solar System, the terrestrial planets accepted by the IAU are the inner planets closest to the Sun: Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars.
Terrestrial planets are substantially different from the giant planets, which might not have solid surfaces and are composed mostly of some combination of hydrogen, helium, and water existing in various physical states. Terrestrial planets have a compact, rocky surfaces, and Venus, Earth, and Mars each also has an atmosphere. Their size, radius ...
The ices that formed the Jovian planets were more abundant than the metals and silicates that formed the terrestrial planets, allowing the giant planets to grow massive enough to capture hydrogen and helium, the lightest and most abundant elements. [12] Planetesimals beyond the frost line accumulated up to 4 M E within about 3 million years. [39]
It is the largest planet in the Solar System, with a diameter of 142,984 km (88,846 mi) at its equator, giving it a volume 1,321 times that of the Earth. [2] [43] Its average density, 1.326 g/cm 3, [e] is lower than those of the four terrestrial planets. [45] [46]
The frost line therefore separates terrestrial planets from giant planets in the Solar System. [12] However, giant planets have been found inside the frost line around several other stars (so-called hot Jupiters). They are thought to have formed outside the frost line, and later migrated inwards to their current positions.
Direct calculations indicate that, in a typical protoplanetary disk, the formation time of a giant planet via pebble accretion is comparable to the formation times resulting from planetesimal accretion. [31] The formation of terrestrial planets differs from that of giant gas planets, also called Jovian planets.