What is the difference in the temperatures of terrestrial and gas giant planets. What causes this difference?
Gas giants are typically composed of hydrogen and helium, though there may be a rocky core of the heavier elements of nickel and iron. This is not a solid core, but rather a denser concentration of those elements than the gaseous ones that make up the surface. There are four gas giants in our solar system: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Uranus and Neptune are ice giants and shall be excluded from this discussion. Though they have temperatures in the 7,000 degree Kelvin range, Jupiter hits the 20,000 K mark. Terrestrial planets are composed mostly of silicate rock with a core, usually iron. (The Moon has no iron core.) They also have a secondary atmosphere whereas gas giants have a primary atmosphere. The difference in temperature is great. Where there is little or no atmosphere, the temperature is governed by the exposure to or lack of sun. A gas giant creates extreme temperatures due to the presence of hydrogen and helium and the massive pressures of its gravitational fields.
