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gas giant
[ gas jahy-uhnt ]
noun
, Astronomy.
- a giant planet composed mostly of hydrogen and helium: the two gas giants in our solar system, Jupiter and Saturn, are sometimes called failed stars because their composition is similar to that of stars, but this is largely considered misleading, as gas giants, unlike brown dwarfs, do not form as stars do. Compare ice giant ( def ).
gas giant
noun
- one of the four planets in our solar system that are composed chiefly of hydrogen and helium, namely Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune
gas giant
- A large, massive, low-density planet composed primarily of hydrogen, helium, methane, and ammonia in either gaseous or liquid state. Gas giants have swirling atmospheres primarily of hydrogen and helium, with no well-defined planetary surface; they are assumed to have rocky cores. They are also characterized by ring systems, although only Saturn's is readily visible from Earth. Our solar system contains four gas giants: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. The majority of extrasolar planets discovered so far are the size of the solar system's gas giants, although they orbit their stars much more closely and may differ in composition from ours.
- Also called Jovian planet
- Compare terrestrial planet
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Word History and Origins
Origin of gas giant1
First recorded in 1950–55
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Word History and Origins
Origin of gas giant1
C20: coined by James Blish (1921–75), US science fiction writer
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Example Sentences
The red spot of Jupiter and the bands on that gas-giant world moved in orderly fashion about its circumference.
From Project Gutenberg
He thought of the great gas-giant world he'd seen out a port on the way here.
From Project Gutenberg
The electron telescope could detect its larger planets, especially a gas-giant fifth-orbit world of high albedo.
From Project Gutenberg
Outer, gas-giant planets floated even more deliberately in larger paths.
From Project Gutenberg
It made for a rendezvous over a pole of the gas-giant planet which was the fourth planet from Kandar's sun.
From Project Gutenberg
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