Gas Giant Exoplanets

Massive planets dominated by hydrogen and helium, similar to Jupiter and Saturn in our solar system.

Gas giant exoplanets have radii between 6.0 and 15.0 Earth radii (or masses exceeding 100 Earth masses). Like Jupiter and Saturn, these worlds are primarily composed of hydrogen and helium gas with no solid surface. Many gas giant exoplanets are "hot Jupiters", massive planets that orbit extremely close to their host stars, completing orbits in just a few days. Their discovery was a surprise to astronomers, as no equivalent exists in our solar system. Gas giants are the easiest type of exoplanet to detect using both the transit and radial velocity methods due to their large size and gravitational influence on their host stars.