Does it Rain in Other Planets

Is not surprising when we see on the Earth from the sky drop of water. We are used to big fluffy clouds that are formed from water vapor, and then decompose wetting everything on Earth. On the other planets of the solar system also has clouds and storms. But clouds are often not consist of water, but of other chemicals and compounds. Each planet has its own unique atmosphere and weather.

Mercury, the planet closest to the Sun, has a lifeless surface covered with craters, and the temperature during the day reaches 427 ° C. Its atmosphere is so rare that it is almost imperceptible. Mercury has no clouds or rain.

But therefore Venus, the Earth’s first neighbor, clouded by the thick clouds, and lightning cut through its gloomy sky. Because the clouds were not able to see its surface, astronomers once thought to Venus could have been wet, swampy and covered with lush vegetation. Now they know that this planet is rocky and hot – at noon on it temperature is 482 ° C. On Venus really exists acid rain. Yellow clouds do not consist of water, but of deadly sulfuric acid.

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Mars, the fourth planet from the Sun, used to be the most similar to Earth. In winter on Mars wind carries the fluffy clouds of carbon dioxide over the red plains. In the valleys, sometimes floating morning fog, but never exceed in the rain. However, in the Martian landscapes are etched channels like river beds, which are now dry. Astronomers assume that they once chased water and that billions of years ago, Mars had a denser atmosphere. Rain is likely to be in abundance.

Jupiter is surrounded by colored rings of clouds. Some clouds may consist of water; most likely make the swollen mounds of frozen ammonia. Jupiter has a storms, during which they could to rain (or snow) of crystals of ammonia, but they melt and evaporate before they fall into the sea of hydrogen.

Saturn is also a large gaseous planet and it is considered that the weather is very similar to the weather on Jupiter.

Another gaseous planet, Uranus, also enveloping haze of clouds. These clouds are from methane (natural gas), and some of them are giant versions of storm clouds on Earth. Drops of liquid methane that fall from the clouds evaporate on the way down.

Far gaseous Neptune is mysterious. It is known that there are clouds of frozen methane, but it is not known much about the weather on it. Even greater puzzle is icy Pluto, by 2006 the ninth planet of the solar system, which is 5.9 billion miles from the sun.

On Titan, Saturn’s largest satellite, and the only satellite of the solar system which has an atmosphere, methane snowflakes sometimes fall from the reddish clouds and slowly descend into the great ocean of methane or nitrogen.