altocumulus, altostratus, atmosphere, cirrocumulus, cirrostratus, cirrus, clouds, cumulus, nimbostratus, stratocumulus, stratus, troposphere

Different Types of Clouds and Their Characteristics

You may see a cloud every time you gaze up into the sky. Generally, when water condenses in the atmosphere, clouds will form. A cloud is comprised of many tiny water droplets and other elements floating in the air. And as they get dense and saturated with these droplets, they spill forth rain onto the ...

Viena Abdon

Cirrostratus clouds.

Airglow Makes the Sky Green, Yellow, and Red Too

Look up on a clear sunny day and you will see a blue sky. But is this the true color of the sky? Or is it the only color of the sky? The answers are a little complicated, but they involve the nature of light, atoms, and molecules, and some quirky parts of Earth’s atmosphere ...

Troy Oakes

Airglow seen from space.

NASA’s Webb Reveals Steamy Atmosphere of Distant Planet in Detail

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has captured the distinct signature of water, along with evidence for clouds and haze, in the atmosphere surrounding a hot, puffy gas giant planet orbiting a distant Sun-like star. The observation, which reveals the presence of specific gas molecules based on tiny decreases in the brightness of precise colors of ...

Troy Oakes

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope.

Research Gives New Insight Into How Much Atmosphere Mars Lost

A key tracer used to estimate how much atmosphere Mars lost can change depending on the time of day and the surface temperature on the Red Planet, according to new observations by NASA-funded scientists. Previous measurements of this tracer — isotopes of oxygen — have disagreed significantly. An accurate measurement of this tracer is important ...

Troy Oakes

Martian environment today and in early times.