How lightning is started in thunderstorms is poorly known. With a newly-developed 3D mapping and polarization system, physicists at Los Alamos National...
Atmospheric gravity waves play a crucial role in driving latitudinal air currents on the Red Planet, particularly at high altitudes, according to a new...
Heat from our Sun drives atmospheric temperature changes on Earth, which in turn can affect things like rock properties and underground water movement,...
Ultrahot Jupiters, an extreme class of planets not found in our Solar System, provide a unique window into atmospheric processes. Using four telescope...
New images, taken over 16 min on January 17, 2025 by the Mastcam instrument on NASA’s Curiosity rover, show noctilucent, or twilight clouds, in the atmosphere...
A team of scientists from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, TUD Dresden University of Technology and the Australian National University, has discovered...
Astronomers using the Immersion GRating INfrared Spectrograph (IGRINS) instrument on the Gemini South telescope have examined the atmosphere of WASP-121b,...
Over two billion tons of carbon monoxide are released into the atmosphere globally each year. Diverse bacteria and archaea consume about 250 million tons...
A team of planetary researchers led by Caltech has determined the chemical mechanisms by which the ancient Mars was able to sustain enough warmth in its...
Heating of complex organic matter in the presence of water may be an important source of Titan’s abundant atmospheric nitrogen and methane gases, according...
Astronomers have long thought that the upper clouds of Jupiter, which create the planet’s iconic pale brown belts, are made of frozen ammonia. But a...
Researchers have examined three ice core records to identify lead pollution levels in the Arctic between 500 BCE through 600 CE. Lead isotopes allowed...
On December 24, 2024, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe soared just 6.1 million km (3.8 million miles) above the surface of our home star, racing through the...
The OPAL (Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy) program obtains long-term baseline observations of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune in order to understand...
Planetary researcher Tereza Constantinou and her colleagues at the University of Cambridge have examined the chemical composition of the Venusian atmosphere...
These Earth-size ovals at Jupiter’s north and south poles are visible only at ultraviolet (UV) wavelengths, and appear and disappear seemingly at random,...
Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope observed Jupiter’s most distinctive feature, the Great Red Spot, with on eight dates over a single,...
There’s more to thunderclouds than rain and lightning. Along with visible light emissions, thunderclouds can produce intense bursts of gamma rays that...
Geological observations of Mars indicate a dense early atmosphere ranging from 0.25 to 4 bar of carbon dioxide. But 3.5 billion years ago, the Martian...
