Extreme Gas Giants
The Universe's Most Intense Worlds
Gas giants are massive worlds made mostly of hydrogen and helium, like Jupiter and Saturn in our Solar System. But the ones orbiting other stars can be wildly different—some scorch close to their stars, others drift alone in the void. These extreme planets teach us how massive worlds form, migrate, and survive (or get destroyed) in alien systems.
From puffy balloons inflated by heat to rogue worlds with no sun, they’re the most dramatic exoplanets we’ve found so far.
- Much larger than Earth—10–20× Earth radius common
- Extreme temperatures: some hotter than lava, others frozen
- Wild weather: winds up to 5,000 mph, glass rain, iron clouds
- Many are “puffy” from heat—lower density than cork
- Some are rogue planets—wandering without a star
- First exoplanets ever discovered were Hot Jupiters
Featured Gas Giant Exoplanets
Size:
~2 x Earth
Distance from Earth:
41 light-years
Habitable Zone:
No
Star Type:
K-type
Fun Fact:
Carbon pressure could make it a “diamond planet”—worth trillions if you could mine it!
Size:
~1.1 x Jupiter
Distance from Earth:
64 light-years
Habitable Zone:
No
Star Type:
K-type
Fun Fact:
Deep blue color from silicate haze—rains molten glass sideways in 5,400 mph winds!
Size:
~1.4 x Jupiter
Distance from Earth:
158 light-years
Habitable Zone:
No
Star Type:
F-type
Fun Fact:
First exoplanet with a detected atmosphere—it’s boiling off a comet-like tail into space!
Size:
~6 x Jupiter
Distance from Earth:
80 light-years
Habitable Zone:
No
Star Type:
None
Fun Fact:
A “rogue” planet drifting alone in space—no star, just glowing from formation heat!
Size:
~3.5–4.0 × Earth
Distance from Earth:
117 light-years light-years
Habitable Zone:
No
Star Type:
K-type
Fun Fact:
Year lasts just 5.4 hours—extreme heat makes it a boiling mini-Neptune!
Size:
8.2 x Earth
Distance from Earth:
581 light-years
Habitable Zone:
No
Star Type:
F-type
Fun Fact:
Fluffier than a marshmallow, this super-puff planet defies gravity with its ultra-low density while zipping around on a wildly tilted, near-polar orbit!
Size:
1.6 x Jupiter
Distance from Earth:
~1,600 light-years
Habitable Zone:
No
Star Type:
F-type
Fun Fact:
Bigger than Jupiter but less dense than cork—floats like a balloon in extreme heat!
Size:
~1.9 x Jupiter
Distance from Earth:
~1,400 light-years
Habitable Zone:
No
Star Type:
F-type
Fun Fact:
So hot it’s being torn apart by its star—will be completely destroyed in a few million years!
Size:
~1.8 x Jupiter
Distance from Earth:
880 light-years
Habitable Zone:
No
Star Type:
F-type
Fun Fact:
Iron rain and “balloon” shape from tides—JWST saw its atmosphere tearing apart!
Size:
~1.2 x Jupiter
Distance from Earth:
~400 light-years
Habitable Zone:
No
Star Type:
F-type
Fun Fact:
Orbits in less than 1 day—tidal forces are slowly crushing it to death!