Under the IAU definition, true or "major planets" can be distinguished from other planetary-mass objects (PMOs), such as dwarf planets and sub-brown dwarfs. Nonetheless, certain planet types have been applied to other planetary-mass objects; the Pluto–Charon system has been referred to as "double dwarf planets", for instance.
A massive planet. They are most commonly composed primarily of 'gas' (hydrogen and helium) or 'ices' (volatiles such as water, methane, and ammonia), but may also be composed primarily of rock, which would make one a Mega Earth.[citation needed] Regardless of their bulk compositions, giant planets normally have thick atmospheres of hydrogen and helium.
Also known as a gas dwarf or transitional planet. A planet up to 10 Earth masses, but less massive than Uranus and Neptune. Mini-Neptunes have thick hydrogen–helium atmospheres, probably with deep layers of ice, rock or liquid oceans (made of water, ammonia, a mixture of both, or heavier volatiles).
An extrasolar planet with a mass higher than Earth's, but substantially below the mass of the Solar System's smaller gas giants Uranus and Neptune, which are 14.5 and 17.1 Earth masses respectively.
A planet with an orbit that falls within the star's habitable zone. The name derives from the fairy tale "Goldilocks and the Three Bears", in which a little girl chooses from sets of three items, ignoring the ones that are too extreme (large or small, hot or cold, etc.), and settling on the one in the middle, which is "just right".
A class of extrasolar planets whose characteristics are similar to Jupiter, but that have high surface temperatures because they orbit very close—between approximately 0.015 and 0.5 AU (2.2×10^6 and 74.8×10^6 km)—to their parent stars, whereas Jupiter orbits its parent star (the Sun) at 5.2 AU (780×10^6 km), causing low surface temperatures.
A planet co-orbiting with another planet. The discovery of a pair of co-orbital exoplanets has been reported, but later retracted.[1] One possibility for the habitable zone is a trojan planet of a gas giant close to its star.
By composition
Artist's impression of COROT-7b (in foreground), likely a lava exoplanet
An extrasolar planet that orbits close to its parent star. Most Chthonian planets are expected to be gas giants that had their atmospheres stripped away, leaving their cores.
Also known as a dry planet, an arid planet, or a dune planet, is a type of terrestrial planet with a surface consistency similar to Earth's hot deserts. Mars is arguably the only present example of a desert planet. No other planet in the Solar System is made up of an entire desert.
A theoretical planet that may form via mass loss from a low-mass white dwarf. Helium planets are predicted to have roughly the same diameter as hydrogen–helium planets of the same mass.
A giant planet composed mainly of 'ices'—volatile substances heavier than hydrogen and helium, such as water, methane, and ammonia—as opposed to 'gas' (hydrogen and helium).
A theoretical terrestrial planet with a surface mostly or entirely covered by molten lava. Venus has over a temperature of 800 degrees fahrenheit, making it a lava planet.
A theoretical planet which has a substantial fraction of its mass made of water. Neptune's surface is made up entirely of water, making it an ocean planet.
A large planetary embryo that originates within protoplanetary discs and has undergone internal melting to produce differentiated interiors. Protoplanets are believed to form out of kilometer-sized planetesimals that attract each other gravitationally and collide.
Also known as a telluric planet or rocky planet. A planet that is composed primarily of carbonaceous or silicate rocks or metals. Merucry is made entirely up of rocks, making it a terrestrial planet.
^ abcThe terms "inferior planet" and "superior planet" were originally used in the geocentric cosmology of Claudius Ptolemy to differentiate as 'inferior' those planets (Mercury and Venus) whose epicycle remained collinear with Earth and the Sun, compared to the 'superior' planets (Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn) that did not.
^The four inner or terrestrial planets have dense, rocky compositions, few or no moons, and no ring systems. They are composed largely of refractory minerals, such as the silicates, which form their crusts and mantles, and metals, such as iron and nickel, which form their cores. Three of the four inner planets (Venus, Earth and Mars) have atmospheres substantial enough to generate weather; all have impact craters and tectonic surface features, such as rift valleys and volcanoes. The term inner planet should not be confused with inferior planet, which designates those planets that are closer to the Sun than Earth is (i.e. Mercury and Venus).
