Ice Giant

space · planets · solar system · extreme weather

Made of water and rock. Unlike gas giants, ice giants have layers of water, methane, ammonia, and other icy materials surrounding a rocky core. Scientists call them 'ice' giants even though they're incredibly hot deep down inside.

Our solar system has two. Uranus and Neptune are the only ice giants orbiting our Sun, and they're much smaller and farther away than Jupiter and Saturn. They're so distant that it took spacecraft decades to reach them.

Wildest winds around. Neptune has the fastest winds in the entire solar system, reaching speeds of 1,200 miles per hour. Uranus spins on its side like a rolling ball, which makes it unique among all the planets.

Beautiful blue color. Both ice giants appear blue or blue-green because methane in their atmospheres absorbs red light and bounces blue light back at us. This methane gives them their distinctive striking appearance.

Still mostly mysterious. We've only sent one spacecraft to each ice giant, so scientists are still discovering amazing things about them and want to send more missions to explore.