why is jupiter a planet if its made of gases

Question: why is jupiter a planet if its made of gases
- Keywords:
  gas,
  jupiter,
  planet
Asked by katelyn to Chris, Sarah on 17 Nov 2017.
- Sarah Guerin answered on 17 Nov 2017:
  
  Great question Katelyn- the only definition of a planet ia a large celestial body orbiting the sun, so even gas giants like Jupiter and Saturn fall into that category, they don’t have to be solid like Earth, Mars etc. 🙂
- Chris Werner answered on 17 Nov 2017:
  
  Interesting question Katelyn, and the answer is in what classifies a planet. The International Astronomical Union’s definition of a planet is any celestial body that is orbiting the Sun, has enough mass and gravity to make itself round, and has cleared out its orbit of smaller objects like asteroids. Pluto doesn’t quite make these criteria but Jupiter does! That’s what happens when you define things! Jupiter has a solid core though and its not totally made of gases, and its believed to be about 20 times the size of Earth. Same with the rest of the planets. If there were enough gases around Earth when it was forming, it too could have been a gas giant!

Question: why is jupiter a planet if its made of gases