Ice giant - Wikipedia
There are two ice giants in the Solar System: Uranus and Neptune. In astrophysics and planetary science the term "ice" refers to volatile chemical compounds with freezing points above about 100 K, such as water, ammonia, or methane, with freezing points of 273 K (0 °C), 195 K (−78 °C), and 91 K (−182 °C), respectively (see Volatiles).
Why do astronomers call Uranus and Neptune ice giants?
2019年6月24日 · Uranus (left) and Neptune are classified as ice giant planets because their rocky, icy cores are proportionally larger than the amount of gas they contain.
Examining Ice Giants With NASA’s Webb Telescope - NASA
2020年2月26日 · Far-flung Uranus and Neptune — the ice giants of our solar system — are as mysterious as they are distant. Soon after its launch in 2021, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope will change that by unlocking secrets of the atmospheres of both planets. These Hubble Space Telescope images show the varied faces of Uranus.
Neptune Facts - Science@NASA
Neptune is one of two ice giants in the outer solar system (the other is Uranus). Most (80% or more) of the planet's mass is made up of a hot dense fluid of "icy" materials – water, methane, and ammonia – above a small, rocky core. Of the giant planets, Neptune is the densest.
The Realm of the Ice Giants - The Planetary Society
Given their large distances from the Sun, Uranus and Neptune are much colder and have a higher abundance of atmospheric water and other ice-forming molecules, earning them the nickname “ice giants.” Ice giants are mostly water, probably in the form of a supercritical fluid; the visible clouds likely consist of ice crystals with different ...
Neptune - NASA Science
Galileo recorded Neptune as a fixed star during observations with his small telescope in 1612 and 1613. More than 200 years later, the ice giant became the first planet located through mathematical predictions rather than through observations of the sky. In 1989, NASA's Voyager 2 became the first-and only-spacecraft to study Neptune up close.
Neptune | National Air and Space Museum
An ice giant is a giant planet that is made up of a thick soup of water, methane, and ammonia which scientists refer to as "ices." Neptune’s core is rocky, and its mantle is made up of the icy water and ammonia associated with the ice giants.
What Are Neptunian Planets? - NASA Science
In 2014, researchers discovered the first ice giant exoplanet 25,000 light-years away. This artist's concept shows "The Behemoth," an enormous comet-like cloud of hydrogen bleeding off of a warm, Neptune-sized planet just 30 light-years from Earth. Also depicted is the parent star, which is a faint red dwarf named GJ 436.
Neptune - Wikipedia
Neptune is the eighth and farthest known planet from the Sun.It is the fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet.It is 17 times the mass of Earth.Compared to its fellow ice giant Uranus, Neptune is slightly more massive, but denser and smaller.Being composed primarily of gases and liquids, [21] it …
Examining ice giants of our solar system | ScienceDaily
2020年2月28日 · Far-flung Uranus and Neptune -- the ice giants of our solar system -- are as mysterious as they are distant. Soon after its launch in 2021, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope will change that...