Conventional wisdom suggests that hailstones form over the course of repeated trips up and down through a storm, but a new study suggests that formation method is less common than Keep reading
Tag: atmospheric science
Climate Change and the Equatorial Cold Tongue
A cold region of Pacific waters stretches westward along the equator from the coast of Ecuador. Known as the equatorial cold tongue, this region exists because trade winds push surface Keep reading
Playful Martian Dust Devils
The Martian atmosphere lacks the density to support tornado storm systems, but vortices are nevertheless a frequent occurrence. As sun-warmed gases rise, neighboring air rushes in, bringing with it any Keep reading
Inside an Alien Atmosphere
Studying the physics of planetary atmospheres is challenging, not least because we only have a handful of examples to work from in our own solar system. So it’s exciting that Keep reading
Atmospheric Rivers Raise Temperatures
Atmospheric rivers are narrow streams of moisture-rich air running from tropical regions to mid- or polar latitudes. Though relatively short-lived, they are capable of carrying — and depositing — more Keep reading
An Exoplanet’s Supersonic Jet Stream
WASP-127b is a hot Jupiter-type exoplanet located about 520 light-years from us. A new study of the planet’s atmosphere reveals a supersonic jet stream whipping around its equatorial region at Keep reading
Peering Inside a Hailstone
In spring and summer, major thunderstorms can include dangerous and destructive hailstones. In Catalonia, a group of scientists collected hailstones after a record-breaking 2022 storm, finding some as large as Keep reading
Revealing Gravity Waves
Severe weather — like thunderstorms, tornadoes, and hurricanes — can push air upward into a higher layer of the atmosphere and trigger gravity waves. Aboard the International Space Station (ISS), Keep reading
Beneath a River of Red
A glowing arch of red, pink, and white anchors this stunning composite astrophotograph. This is a STEVE (Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement) caused by a river of fast-moving ions high Keep reading
Wave Clouds in the Atacama
Striped clouds appear to converge over a mountaintop in this photo, but that’s an illusion. In reality, these clouds are parallel and periodic; it’s only the camera’s wide-angle lens that Keep reading