ocean planet
Sign in to saveAlso known as waterworld, water planet, water world, ocean world, panthalassic planet, panthalassus, marine planet, maritime world
hypothetical type of planet whose surface is completely covered with an ocean of water with potential signs of life; in fiction see Q98807723
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- Ocean world Earth.jpg
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- water as percent of area
- 100
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- purl.obolibrary.org/obo/ENVO_01001136
- Commons category
- Ocean planets
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Article
Earth's surface is dominated by the ocean, which forms 71% of Earth's surface. Thus, Earth can be considered a water world, although not a fully oceanic world.
An ocean world, ocean planet or water world is a type of planet or natural satellite that contains a substantial amount of water in the form of oceans, as part of its hydrosphere, either beneath the surface, as subsurface oceans, or on the surface, potentially submerging all dry land. The term ocean world is also used sometimes for astronomical bodies with an ocean composed of a different fluid or thalassogen, such as lava (the case of Io), ammonia (in a eutectic mixture with water, as is likely the case of Titan's inner ocean) or hydrocarbons (like on Titan's surface, which could be the most abundant kind of exosea). The study of extraterrestrial oceans is referred to as planetary oceanography.