ultra-hot jupiter

English edit

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Etymology edit

ultra- +‎ hot jupiter. From being a type of gas giant planet much hotter than most jupiter-class planets.

Noun edit

ultra-hot jupiter (plural ultra-hot jupiters)

  1. A giant planet, of similar mass to that of Jupiter, which orbits close enough to its sun to become tidally locked, and whose day-side atmosphere has therefore heated up so much, as to break apart most molecules, leaving atomic gas. The day-side atmosphere has the temperature and spectral characteristics of a star's surface.

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