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A size comparison of Neptune and Earth. Neptune's mass of 1.0243 × 10 26 kg [8] is intermediate between Earth and the larger gas giants: it is 17 times that of Earth but just 1/19th that of Jupiter. [g] Its gravity at 1 bar is 11.15 m/s 2, 1.14 times the surface gravity of Earth, [71] and surpassed only by Jupiter. [72]
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.
The size of solid bodies does not include an object's atmosphere. For example, Titan looks bigger than Ganymede, but its solid body is smaller. For the giant planets, the "radius" is defined as the distance from the center at which the atmosphere reaches 1 bar of atmospheric pressure. [11]
A cold hydrogen-rich gas giant more massive than Jupiter but less than about 500 M E (1.6 M J) will only be slightly larger in volume than Jupiter. [9] For masses above 500 M E, gravity will cause the planet to shrink (see degenerate matter). [9] Kelvin–Helmholtz heating can cause a gas giant to radiate more energy than it receives from its ...
An electrical current in the metallic hydrogen layer is thought to give rise to Saturn's planetary magnetic field, which is weaker than Earth's, but has a magnetic moment 580 times that of Earth because of Saturn's greater size. Saturn's magnetic field strength is about a twentieth that of Jupiter. [32]
The temperature of Triton's upper atmosphere, at 95 ± 5 K, is higher than that at its surface, due to heat absorbed from solar radiation and Neptune's magnetosphere. [ 48 ] [ 53 ] A haze permeates most of Triton's troposphere, thought to be composed largely of hydrocarbons and nitriles created by the action of sunlight on methane.
In the 1990s, it was determined that Uranus and Neptune were a distinct class of giant planet, separate from the other giant planets, Jupiter and Saturn, which are gas giants predominantly composed of hydrogen and helium. [1] Neptune and Uranus are now referred to as ice giants. Lacking well-defined solid surfaces, they are primarily composed ...
Super-Neptune: A planet that is more massive than the planet Neptune. These planets are generally described as being around 5–7 times as large as Earth with estimated masses of 20–80 M E; PH1b, K2-33b: Neptunian planet: Planets of mass similar to Uranus or Neptune; smaller than the gas giants, but still much larger than Earth. Gliese 436 b ...