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

elite-dangerous

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.

Best Answer

From the same wiki:

Class II gas giants have primarily hydrogen and helium atmospheres. Water vapour in the upper cloud layers gives them a much higher albedo. Their surface temperature is typically up to or around 250 K.

So it looks like you can't really tell. Class is based on the composition of the planets, not mass, size, period or distance from star. Sorry.