gas giant

Coined by American science fiction author James Blish in a rewritten reprinting of his 1941 short story "Solar Plexus" in the 1952 anthology Beyond Human Ken.

gas giant (plural gas giants)

1. (astronomy) A large planet composed mostly of gaseous hydrogen and helium, along with methane and ammonia; possibly with a solid core.
   • 1954, Blish, James, “Solar Plexus”, in Beyond Human Ken, Random House, page 106:

     A quick glance over the boards revealed that there was a magnetic field of some strength near by, one that didn't belong to the invisible gas giant revolving half a million miles away.

   • 2013 May-June, Kevin Heng, “Why Does Nature Form Exoplanets Easily?”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3, page 184:

     In the past two years, NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope has located nearly 3,000 exoplanet candidates ranging from sub-Earth-sized minions to gas giants that dwarf our own Jupiter.

• Jovian planet
• gas giant planet

• giant planet

• Jupiter
• Saturn

• terrestrial planet
  • silicate planet / silicon planet
  • carbide planet / carbon planet
• major planet

• ice giant

• dwarf planet
• minor planet
• Neptune (ice giant)
• Uranus (ice giant)

• “gas giant” in Brave New Words: The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction, Oxford University Press, 2007, →ISBN, pages 75–76.
• gas giant n. at the OED Science Fiction Citations Project