Mysteries of Planetary Clouds

Venus is enshrouded in thick, toxic clouds of sulfuric acid, reflecting sunlight and concealing its scorched surface. These clouds create a runaway greenhouse effect, making Venus the hottest planet in our Solar System despite being second from the Sun.

Jupiter's upper atmosphere boasts bright, white clouds composed of frozen ammonia crystals. They form a tapestry of swirling patterns, including the iconic Great Red Spot, a massive storm larger than Earth that has raged for centuries.

Mars features thin, wispy clouds of water ice, visible across its sky. These clouds are most prominent during the Martian cold season and can form frost and even snow that gently settles on the rugged landscape.

Saturn's upper atmosphere holds layers of haze, which are clouds made of icy particles. These hazes scatter sunlight, giving Saturn a yellow-brown hue and occasionally revealing hexagon-shaped cloud patterns at its poles.

Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, is the only other known body with stable liquid on its surface. Its dense, nitrogen-rich atmosphere hosts methane clouds that precipitate, initiating methane rain and carving rivers and lakes into its icy surface.

Neptune's deep blue color comes from methane in its atmosphere, which freezes into ice clouds at high altitudes. These clouds cast shadows on the lower cloud deck, contributing to the planet's dynamic and stormy weather patterns.

Some exoplanets have been observed with clouds made of exotic materials like silicates and metals. These clouds can precipitate as iron, corundum or even rubies and sapphires, showcasing the incredible diversity of planetary weather in the universe.

On exoplanet WASP-76b, temperatures are so high that it rains molten iron from the sky.