History of Solar System formation and evolution hypotheses full of hydrogen and helium gas and exchange of angular momentum between giant planets and the particles in the protoplanetary disc. The detailed features of the planets are another problem. The solar nebula hypothesis predicts that all planets will form exactly in the ecliptic plane. Instead, the orbits of the classical planets have various (but small) inclinations with respect to the ecliptic. Furthermore, for the gas giants it is predicted that their rotations and moon systems will also not be inclined with respect to the ecliptic plane. However, most gas giants have substantial axial tilts with respect to the ecliptic,
Giant planet Giant planet A giant planet is any massive planet. They are usually primarily composed of low-boiling-point materials (gases or ices), rather than rock or other solid matter, but massive solid planets can also exist. There are four known giant planets in the Solar System: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Many extrasolar giant planets have been identified orbiting other stars. Giant planets are also sometimes called jovian planets, after Jupiter ("Jove" being another name for the Roman god "Jupiter"). They are also sometimes known as gas giants. However, many astronomers now apply the latter term only to Jupiter and Saturn, classifying