Weather Across Different Planets In The Solar System
May 15, 2015 6:18 PM | Skymet Weather Team
Mother Earth experiences all kinds of weather activity. We have deserts where the heat is simply unbearable. There are places where strong winds uproot trees and heavy rains flood the region. Also, Earth is home to icy cold places where bone-chilling temperatures are quite natural.
But we often look into outer space and wonder about the extremes which take place there. We do possess some little knowledge about the workings of planets, galaxies, and the universe. But our solar system continues to intrigue us the most. But have you ever thought about the kind of weather activity which takes place on other planets? We take a look at some of the celestial bodies and the type of weather which is experienced there.
Venus
(Image Credits: zmescience.com)
Venus is home to thick heavy clouds of carbon dioxide which keep circling its atmosphere. This leads to a greenhouse effect which does not allow the Sun’s heat to escape from the heat. The trapped heat of the Sun never allows the planet to cool down and Venus usually experiences temperatures of up to 482°C.
Mars
(Image Credits: blastr.com)
Mars experiences hugely varying temperatures in a single day. During daytime, temperature on the surface of Mars is around 26 to 27°C which is extremely pleasant. But come night, and the temperature plummets to as low as -128°C. Why? The air on Mars’ surface is made up of an extremely thin layer of carbon dioxide which lets the Sun’s heat escape at night. Hence, the cooling. The region is prone dust storms as well.
Jupiter
(Image Credits: documentaryflicks.com)
Hurricanes are quite common on earth. Some of these even lead to widespread loss of life and property. But Jupiter is a little too extreme when it comes to hurricanes. Jupiter’s Great Red Spot witnesses counterclockwise winds of about 250 miles per hour. The Red Spot is capable of swallowing up two Earths. Moreover, this storm has continued for almost 300 years now.
Saturn
(Image Credits: sphereboy.com)
When you look at Saturn from a telescope, you’ll see clouds. All these clouds move at varying speeds of up to 1,100 miles per hour. These winds are both eastward and westward. But the most amazing feature of Saturn is that it has no ground for you to stand on. It’s basically an orb of gas staying afloat.
Neptune
(Image Credits: amazonaws.com)
It’s windy in Neptune, like real windy. Even Uranus is an extremely windy gas giant but winds on Neptune touch 1,600 miles per hour. The planet hosts storms which are big enough to swallow Earth. These are humongous spinning storms which walk Neptune’s surface.
Moons of Other Planets
(Image Credits: astrobio.net)
Jupiter has at least 63 moons. That’s an interesting fact right there, but some of these moons are even more amazing in terms of weather activity, once you get a little closer. Europa is one of the four largest moons of Jupiter. Now Europa is smaller than the Earth and its gravity is just about 1/8th of Earth’s. But the temperature on Europa is -200°C and that’s good enough to freeze you to your bones in a nanosecond.
Saturn’s moon Titan is the second largest moon in the solar system. It is covered in thick clouds which give a hazy look to its atmosphere. There are lakes on Titan but these lakes don’t hold water, they hold liquid methane or ethane. Titan experiences a methane cycle, just like Earth has a water cycle which brings rain on our planet.
Lastly, Neptune’s moon Triton is one of the coldest celestial bodies in the solar system. Triton is home to ice volcanoes! The surface temperature on Triton settles around -235°C. Simply speaking, it’s unbearably cold on Triton.
