Category:Gas giants

From Mass Effect Wiki

Articles about gas giant planets in the Mass Effect universe.

Main article: Planets

See also: Planet Index

Note that for gas giants in Mass Effect, radius is equatorial radius - as in Jupiter, 71,492 ± 4 km. Gas giants of Jupiter's density and orbital period (9.925 hours) are oblate. Polar radius for Jupiter is 66,854 ± 10 km.

Also for gas giants, and again as per Jupiter, day length refers to the internal magnetic dynamo.

Last of Jupiter's contributions to these definitions, the existence of a solid core has not yet been verified for that planet. By contrast, Saturn definitely has a core, of 10-20 Earth masses.

A minimal-core gas giant orbiting in a Saturnine region of its solar system should have an equatorial (i.e. maximum) radius more than that of Saturn's 60000 km. (William Hubbard, The New Solar System 4th ed, 1999; p. 194) This radius refers to a Saturn mass, or else a mass much larger than Jupiter's. If less massive, such a planet would cool faster, leading to differentiation of heavy elements into the core as the hydrogen boiled into space. In warmer parts of a solar system the minimum radius will expand a bit more. Planets below that minimum radius may still look like an oblate ball of gas from the outside, but internally will be increasingly defined by a solid core and a wrapper of ices (methane, water, ammonia etc).

Neptune and Uranus are "ice giants". Saturn is a borderline case. So for the game's "gas giants", starting not far under the minimum radius which Saturn establishes, a smaller specimen will be declared a likely ice giant in its Trivia section. Keep a close eye out for radius 25000 km, the Neptune / Uranus volume.

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