How can gas planets like saturn and jupitar be concidered planets?

Question

How is a big ball of gas concidered a planet? I mean you can't even walk on it? I always thought gas wasn't a solid so how can it be called a PLANET? Please explain thanks?

WE have LAND...WE have WATER which you can swim in...Im talking about its a gas..gas you just go thru...you can't swim you can't pick it up...its not anything...So water is alittle different from gas..Plus underneath the water..there is LAND again WOWW....underneath yes there is liquid but you can stand on the core.

Answer 1

Planets are classified as such by their size, mainly, and the fact that they orbit a star of some sort. Jupiter and Saturn meet the criteria.

It's pretty weird to think about, and a little hard to fully comprehend because they look absolutely solid in photos and images, but there's not much real estate on gas giants.

Answer 2

The International Astronomical Union voted (on August 24, 2006) on the definition of a planet:
1. Must orbit a star and not another planet
2. Must be massive enough to be spherical in shape due to its own gravity
3. Must have cleared its orbital region of debris
The gas giants (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune) meet all 3 criteria for planet.

There has never been a requirement that a planet have a solid surface.
If that was the criteria, then the moon is a planet, so are all the moons around the other planets, the asteroids, and every meteorite and comet in our solar system.

Answer 3

Although there isn't a requirement for a planet to be a solid, both Jupiter and Saturn do have frozen gas as a solid ground. I believe the requirement is that it rotates around the sun/star, has enough gravity to round out its shape by itself, and has cleared its area of smaller tiny planets. The last two are what keeps calling a few large objects in the asteroid belt, planets.

Answer 4

A planet doesn't have to be completely solid and these gas giants do have a solid or liquid core.

Besides a planet is anything that is in orbit around the sun, is of a sufficient size, is rounded due it's own gravity and in the case of the gas giants isn't massive enough to undergo stellar fusion and become another star.

Answer 5

well, geez, our planet has a gaseous and liquid envelope too you know. Just because all you see is the gas doesnt mean there isn't solid down underneath on the large planets.

Answer 6

definition of planet:
A planet, as defined by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), is a celestial body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion in its inner core, and has cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals.


doesn't have to be solid.

Answer 7

WELCOME TO THE PLANETS OF OUR SOLAR SYSTEM

THE SUN,, MOVIE,,

http://www.solarminimum.com/IMAX/953.gif

MERCURY

http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/targetFamily/Mercury

VENUS

http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/targetFamily/Venus

PICTURES OF THE SURFACE OF VENUS AFTER RUSSIA LANDED THE VENERA 9 AND VENERA 10 LANDERS ON ITS SURFACE,,

http://www.russianspaceweb.com/venera9_mitchell.html

http://www.russianspaceweb.com/venera10_mitchell.html

HERE ARE SOME COLOR PICTURES OF VENUS FROM THE VENERA 13 AND VENERA 14 RUSSIAN LANDERS ON VENUS,

http://www.mentallandscape.com/V_DigitalImages.htm#Venera13

EARTH

http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/targetFamily/Earth

MARS

http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/targetFamily/Mars

JUPITER

http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/targetFamily/Jupiter

SATURN

http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/targetFamily/Saturn

URANUS

http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/targetFamily/Uranus

NEPTUNE

http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/targetFamily/Neptune

PLUTO

http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/targetFamily/Pluto

Answer 8

yes they are considered a planet. But i dont think they should be because the sun is made up of gas but its a star.

Answer 9

our planet is mostly liquid, like 99.9999% liquid (the insides are all liquid remember?????)

so earth isn't a planet by your definition either.

sounds to me like you just made up your own [wrong] definition of a planet.