与类木行星等气态巨行星相比,冰巨星是由大量比氢氦重的气体成分(水、氨、甲烷等)组成的气体行星,天王星和海王星便是典型的冰巨星。天王星和海王星的大气中保存着太阳系形成初期的气体,对研究太阳系和行星的形成演化有很大帮助;研究其大气的动力学有助于了解大气内部的结构、热源驱动机制和对流机制;随着证认的系外行星数量逐渐增加,发现类海王星型系外行星是普遍存在的。介绍了天王星和海王星的大气结构、大气成分,以及太阳系外类海王星的研究进展,并对未来冰巨星的探测和研究进行展望。
The giant planets being mainly composed of elements heavier than hydrogen and helium are defined as ice giant planets.The Uranus and Neptune are two typical ice giant planets in the solar system.Since the atmosphere of ice giant preserves the earliest gas when solar system formed,it would be great help to understand the formation and evolution of the planetary system.Study on the dynamics of the atmosphere can reveal the structure,convection mechanism and its thermal driving of the atmosphere.