Neptune - Composition and Structure

Composition and Structure

With a mass of 1.0243×1026 kg, Neptune is an intermediate body between Earth and the larger gas giants: its mass is seventeen times that of the Earth but just 1/19th that of Jupiter. The planet's surface gravity is only surpassed by Jupiter. Neptune's equatorial radius of 24764 km is nearly four times that of the Earth. Neptune and Uranus are often considered a sub-class of gas giant termed "ice giants", due to their smaller size and higher concentrations of volatiles relative to Jupiter and Saturn. In the search for extrasolar planets Neptune has been used as a metonym: discovered bodies of similar mass are often referred to as "Neptunes", just as astronomers refer to various extra-solar bodies as "Jupiters".