On types of planets

Basically, there are two broad categories of planets. There are rocky, or terrestrial planets, and there are gaseous planets, which are also termed gas giants. An example of the former in our solar system would be Mars, and of the latter, Jupiter.

More precisely, a terrestrial planet may or may not possess an atmosphere. They have a definite solid surface somewhere, unlike gas giants, and always have some sort of metallic core. There are finer subdivisions of terrestrial planets into types depending on their composition, whether they are considered a planet proper or a dwarf (remember the argument about Pluto's status a few years back?), their temperature and so forth.

A gas giant generally lives up to its name. They are large; Space.com lists Jupiter as being able to contain around 1,500 Earths. Most noticeably, they possess a thick atmosphere which makes up the majority of their mass. The surface of a gas giant is not easily detectable, and may not be solid.

They are generally divided into two types. There are the "normal" gas giants, which mostly consist of hydrogen and helium, such as Saturn and Jupiter in our Solar System. Then there are "ice giants", which consist mainly of water, methane and ammonia. These are represented by Neptune and Uranus in our Solar System.

But they're not the only types of planet. So what did Gáspár Bakos' network discover? That'll have to wait until tomorrow.

Web Resources:

Arnett, Bill. (2009). Jupiter. Retrieved February 4 2009, from: The Nine Planets
Solar System Tour: http://www.nineplanets.org/jupiter.html
Arnett, Bill. (2009). Jupiter. Retrieved February 4 2009, from: The Nine Planets
Solar System Tour: http://www.nineplanets.org/mars.html
Arnett, Bill. (2009). Jupiter. Retrieved February 4 2009, from: The Nine Planets
Solar System Tour: http://www.nineplanets.org/neptune.html
Comments: Worth browsing. Good overview of the Solar System.

Space.com. (2009) Virtual Space Tour. Retrieved February 4 2009 from:
http://www.space.com/php/popup/virtualspacetour/noad_astropedia.php
Comments: Also not a bad starting point; this one's more interactive. Space.com in general is a good go-to for space and astronomy news.