Astronomers at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian have detected the first Jupiter-like planet without clouds or haze in its observable atmosphere. The findings were published this month in the Astrophysical Journal Letters. Source: https://phys.org/news/2021-01-astronomers-cloudless-jupiter-like-planet.html…
Tag: clouds
Genesis of blue lightning into the stratosphere detected from ISS
Dark clouds, the smell of rain on a hot sidewalk, the flashes of intense light followed by a loud crackling and then a low, rolling thunder—who doesn’t love a good summer thunderstorm? We’ve all seen one, heard one, or been completely soaked by one. But how much do we really know about this weather phenomenon? Source: https://phys.org/news/2021-01-genesis-blue-lightning-stratosphere-iss.html…
Striped brown dwarf looks a lot like Jupiter
The surface features of brown dwarfs – objects midway in mass between planets and stars – can’t be seen. But researchers have found a way to reveal Jupiter-like stripes and bands in the atmosphere of the closest brown dwarf, Luhman 16B. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/brown-dwarf-luhman-16b-jupiter-like-stripes…
6 space missions to look forward to in 2021
Here are some of the space missions to keep an eye out for in 2021. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/6-space-missions-2021-artemis-chandrayaa3-jameswebb…
Photos of the last full moon of the year and decade
Photographers around the world are sharing their pics of the last full moon of 2020 and this decade, which occurred on December 29 or 30, depending on your location. Source: https://earthsky.org/todays-image/photos-of-the-last-full-moon-of-the-year-and-decade…
What causes sun pillars or light pillars?
Sun pillars, or light pillars, are shafts of light extending from the sun or other bright light sources under the right atmospheric conditions. They’re caused by ice crystals drifting in Earth’s air. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/what-is-a-sun-pillar…
Dark storm on Neptune changes direction, escapes deadly fate
Astronomers used the Hubble Space Telescope to observe unusual weather on the planet Neptune, not observed until now. They saw a large, dark storm on Neptune unexpectedly changing direction, thereby saving itself from looming destruction and possibly producing a smaller companion storm. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/large-dark-storm-change-direction-neptune…
Kelvin-Helmholtz clouds look like waves in the sky
Clouds in the sky can mimic cresting ocean waves. These photographic clouds are called Kelvin-Helmholtz clouds, and occasionally also go by the name billow clouds or shear-gravity clouds. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/kelvin-helmholzt-clouds…
Fox Fur, Unicorn, and Christmas Tree
Clouds of glowing hydrogen gas fill this colorful skyscape in the faint Source: https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html…
Why are the stars so bright tonight?
In late December – and in January and February – our evening sky faces away from the Milky Way’s star-rich center. We look toward the depths of space beyond our galaxy’s boundaries and toward some close, bright stars in our local spiral arm. Source: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/star-seasonal-appearance-brightness…