Though we rarely notice it, our sky is always aglow. Washed in solar radiation, the oxygen and nitrogen molecules at high altitude get broken apart during the daytime and recombine Keep reading
Tag: atmospheric science
Stabilizing Jupiter’s Polar Storms
Four years ago, Juno discovered an octagon of eight cyclones at Jupiter’s northern pole and a similar five cyclone structure at its southern pole. Since then, both polygons have remained Keep reading
Cloud Streets
Parallel lines of cumulus clouds stream over the Labrador Sea in this satellite image. These cloud streets are formed when cold, dry winds blow across comparatively warm waters. As the Keep reading
Inhibiting Marine Lightning
Thunderstorms over the ocean have substantially less lightning than a similar storm over land. Scientists wondered whether this difference could be due to lower cloud bases over the ocean or Keep reading
Neptune’s Seasonal Changes
Ice giant Neptune orbits our sun once every 165 years, meaning that each season on the planet lasts about 41 years here on Earth. Currently, the side of Neptune facing Keep reading
Making Hurricanes
With oceans warming, there’s more energy available to intensify hurricanes. And while our weather models have gotten better at predicting where hurricanes will go, they’re less good at predicting hurricane Keep reading
Deciphering Krakatau
In 1883, the eruption of Krakatau (also called Krakatoa) shook the world, sending shock waves and tsunamis ricocheting across the globe. Some of the smaller waves hit shorelines in the Keep reading
“Shadows in the Sky”
This moody music video features storm chasing footage from photographer Mike Olbinski. As always, his captures are stunningly majestic. Watch closely and you’ll see everything from bulbous mammatus clouds to Keep reading
Jovian Circulation
Jupiter‘s atmosphere remains quite mysterious, due to our limited ability to measure the depths of the gas giant’s clouds. But measurements from the Juno spacecraft are continuing to shape researchers’ Keep reading
Mountains in the Sky
Our skies can sometimes presage the weather to come. In thunderstorms, a cirrus plume above an anvil cloud will often appear (visible by satellite) about half an hour before severe Keep reading