Each planet of the solar system has its own look. Earth has aquamarine oceans. Jupiter has panchromatic tempests. Saturn has glimmering rings. And Neptune has ghostly clouds — at least, it used to. For the first time in three decades, the electric-blue orb is almost completely cloud-free, and astronomers are […]
clouds
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Changes in cloud cover on Neptune from 2002 to 2023 Imke de Pater, Erandi Chavez, Erin Redwing (UC Berkeley)/W. M. Keck Observatory Neptune’s clouds have disappeared. Since the first detailed images of the planet were taken by the Voyager 2 spacecraft in 1989, its cerulean disc has been criss-crossed by […]
Exactly how clouds produce rain is a mystery Jack Dykinga/naturepl.com/Alamy Moments after supercooled water freezes, a strange kind of spring-like ice is born. The process involved, which researchers have only now seen for the first time, could help explain how clouds, which contain millions of supercooled water droplets, make rain […]
Astronomers have come across the shiniest planet ever found, a mere 265 light years from our solar system. But that’s hardly its only standout trait. Shrouded by thick metallic clouds, this world’s temperature reaches a blistering 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit, and it quite likely rains scorching-hot drops of titanium. The find, […]
CNN — It’s been eight years since he rode down the escalator in Trump Tower and more than two years since the January 6, 2021, insurrection, but the legal drama surrounding Donald Trump has never been more intense. He pleaded not guilty last month to 37 federal counts related to […]
By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) – It is a planet astronomers say probably should not even exist. Researchers said on Monday they have spotted a truly extreme planet beyond our solar system, a blazingly hot world a bit bigger than Neptune that orbits a sun-like star every 19 hours and […]
illustration of phosphine molecules floating in space near venus and the sun The Venus phosphine saga continues. In September 2020, a team of scientists led by Jane Greaves of Cardiff University in Wales reported the detection of phosphine, a possible indicator of life, in the clouds of Venus. The announcement […]
Wildfire smoke drifting skyward may be driving the formation of cirrus clouds high in the atmosphere Doug Armand/Getty Images Smoke from wildfires now burning in North America may be seeding the formation of more cirrus clouds over Europe. More clouds could affect the amount of solar radiation trapped close to […]