Mini-Neptune
Imagine you're holding a tiny blue marble in your hand - that's what a mini-Neptune is like! Mini-Neptunes are planets that are about the same size as our Earth, but they have a lot in common with Neptune, one of the planets in our Solar System.
Like Neptune, mini-Neptunes are mostly made up of gas rather than solid rock like the Earth. This gas is mostly hydrogen and helium, just like the universe, but also contains water, methane, and other chemicals. This makes them very light for their size and they'd float in water, kind of like a toy ball.
Unlike Earth, mini-Neptunes are too far from their star for it to be warm enough for water to exist in liquid form. Instead, they have thick atmospheres that trap heat, making their surfaces too hot to live on.
Some mini-Neptunes may also have rocky cores, but they would still be vastly different from Earth or any other rocky planet, due to the extreme conditions and the presence of atmospheric gases.
Overall, mini-Neptunes are fascinating objects that help us understand the diversity of planets that exist beyond our Solar System.
Like Neptune, mini-Neptunes are mostly made up of gas rather than solid rock like the Earth. This gas is mostly hydrogen and helium, just like the universe, but also contains water, methane, and other chemicals. This makes them very light for their size and they'd float in water, kind of like a toy ball.
Unlike Earth, mini-Neptunes are too far from their star for it to be warm enough for water to exist in liquid form. Instead, they have thick atmospheres that trap heat, making their surfaces too hot to live on.
Some mini-Neptunes may also have rocky cores, but they would still be vastly different from Earth or any other rocky planet, due to the extreme conditions and the presence of atmospheric gases.
Overall, mini-Neptunes are fascinating objects that help us understand the diversity of planets that exist beyond our Solar System.