Is it possible to determine the class of a Gas Giant without scanning it?

When I'm out exporing in deep space I want to maximise my profits by only scanning the more valuable celestial objects.

The data in the table below suggests that Class II Gas Giants are much more valuable to scan than any other class:

+--------------+-------------------+
| Class        | Value             |
+--------------+-------------------+
| Class I      | 2,200 - 3,800 CR  |
| Class II     | 7,500 - 12,300 CR |
| Class III    | 2,200 - 3,800 CR  |
| Class IV     | 2,200 - 3,800 CR  |
| Class V      | 2,200 - 3,800 CR  |
+--------------+-------------------+

_{Data sourced from the Elite Dangerous wiki}

With rocky worlds it's usually pretty easy to guess what type of world it is based on its appearance, and so whether or not it's worth the effort to perform a detailed surface scan of it. However, so far I've not spotted an obvious pattern that the various classes of Gas Giant worlds follow.

Is it possible to tell by eye (i.e. from the system map) what class a Gas Giant world is? If not, how about with the basic scan data that you get from a discovery scanner?

Basic scan data is Earth masses, radius, orbital period and semi major axis only.

Note: I am not looking for a flawless method to predict the planet's class - just one that works more often than not and doesn't require me to perform a detailed surface scan.

elite-dangerous

Best Answer

You can tell what class they are if you familiarize yourself with what the hologram looks like in the HUD. enter image description here

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How are gas giants classified?

Theoretically, gas giants can be divided into five distinct classes according to their modeled physical atmospheric properties, and hence their appearance: ammonia clouds (I), water clouds (II), cloudless (III), alkali-metal clouds (IV), and silicate clouds (V).

What is a Class 1 gas giant?

Class I: Ammonia clouds Gaseous giants in this class have appearances dominated by ammonia clouds. These planets are found in the outer regions of a planetary system. They exist at temperatures less than about 150 K (\u2212120 \xb0C; \u2212190 \xb0F).

What is a class 9 gas giant?

In planetary classification, a class 9 gas giant planet was the Human designation for a gas giant which was recognized as a Q'tahL class gas giant among Klingons. There were no class 9 gas giants in the Sol system.

What is the warmest gas giant in our solar system?

Venus, the planet in our solar system where temperatures regularly are the hottest, averages a high of about 460 degrees Celsius at ground level.

Gas Giant Myths

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