Tag: Rock Giants
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Are Uranus and Neptune Rock Giants? Reassessing the Ice Giants Label
Rethinking the Ice Giants label For decades, Uranus and Neptune have been classed alongside Jupiter and Saturn as “giants,” but categorized as “ice giants” due to their higher water, ammonia, and methane content relative to the gas giants. A recent study accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics challenges this long-standing framework. A team from…
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Are Uranus and Neptune Really Ice Giants? New Research Hints at a Rockier Interior
Rethinking a Long-Standing Label: Ice Giants or Rock Giants? For decades, Uranus and Neptune have been classified in astronomy as “ice giants,” a category that places them between the hydrogen-helium gas giants (Jupiter and Saturn) and the rocky Terrestrial planets. A recent study accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics invites scientists to reconsider that…