Cryojovian Type worlds

BY LETTER

Cold , mostly cloudless gas giants in the outer parts of a planetary system
Image from Steve Bowers
Hackenbush, a cold, cloudless cryojovian in the outer parts of the Pen-y-Ghent system

These worlds generally do not have upper level clouds because it is too cold for condensates to form, although temporary storms and band may form. Some latitudes may have methane clouds, reflecting local warm climes. The result is also a Jovian world that can have a variety of blue hues, although atmospheric haze could mute the color. These worlds are also unique in that they are composed of a larger amount of rock and ice, with large cores and a less massive Jovian atmosphere than typical gas giants.

In the outer regions of a young solar system planets form more slowly, and these worlds rarely accrue enough mass to become hydrogen-helium giants. This means that many gas giants in the Neptunian class are cryojovian in nature (sometimes called ice giants or cryoneptunians, to distinguish them from warm and hot Neptunian sized planets in the inner regions of a planetary system). An example is Hackenbush in the Penyghent system. Sometimes, however, large gas giants form in the outer regions of planetary systems from core collapse, in a similar fashion to a companion star; these objects are in fact failed stars, and if massive enough will undergo fusion of deuterium and become brown dwarfs.

Bubblehabs
Hot Neptunes
MesoJovian Type
MicroJovian Type
Neptune
Non-Luminary World Classification Scheme
SubJovian Type
SuperJovian Type

Appears in Topics

Planetology

Development Notes

Text by John M. Dollan and Steve Bowers
Initially published on 31 December 2007.

Additional Information

Ice giants at Wikipedia
<{{https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_giant,https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_giant}}>

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Cold , mostly cloudless gas giants in the outer parts of a planetary system