You think the weather here on Earth is bad? All the rain, hurricanes, twisters, volcanoes and earthquakes are bad enough but they are nothing when compared to other worlds and the weather patterns they experience. We take for granted the planet that we live on but when we look elsewhere in the cosmos, we realize then just how good we have it. So, get ready to enjoy our weather patterns as we take a look at the wildest weather phenomena in the Universe.
Weather Phenomena – Iron Rain on Brown Dwarfs
Our Sun is a magnificent object granting light, heat and the possibility of life on our planet but what if the components that made up our star didn’t happen properly? A failed star is called a brown dwarf. It has the right properties to become a star but not enough mass to get everything working in order to become a star. Don’t worry, they are still quite big nearly six times the size of Jupiter. It still has a lot of pressure and heat but it does cool down at times allowing the iron gasses that makes up the clouds to cool enough to rain down liquid iron! That’s nearly 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit, plus we know that iron is a heavy metal so if one of those rain drops hit you, it would not only melt you but it would hurt as well!
Weather Phenomena – Winds of Neptune
Like looking at a bright blue marble in the night sky, which can be attributed to the methane clouds which gives the planet its blue color. Neptune is the furthest planet from the Sun, considering that Pluto is a dwarf planet. If you didn’t know, the Sun plays a major factor in our weather conditions, specifically the winds on our planet. Most of the time the winds on Earth are calm but on Neptune it’s a whole different story.
The fastest wind speed recorded on Earth was 253 mph from tropical cyclone Olivia off the coast of Australia in 1996. The winds on Neptune range between 900 and 1500 mph! That’s breaking the sound barrier over and over again! Scientists aren’t sure why because Neptune only receives about 40 percent of sunlight. There are theories that suggest the core is somehow driving this heat from deep within the planet which could cause these ferocious winds. Plus, there’s also the idea of a lack of friction since Neptune is a gas giant and there is no land mass which would slow down the winds like here on Earth. Talk about one heck of a wild ride!
Weather Phenomena – Great White Spot on Saturn
Imagine a full planetary storm that lasts several months! Much like the Great Red Spot on Jupiter, this Great White Spot on Saturn is a storm system that occurs roughly every thirty years and whirls around the equator of the entire planet. Nearly 6200 miles long that storm would wrap around every continent on Earth and there would be no escaping the storm.
The Cassini probe was able to study the storm and snap photos of it. Over time, it was reveled that temperatures would drastically change during the course of this storm. Think of the temperature in Fairbanks, Alaska then turn to the heat of the Mojave desert in just a matter of months! This storm system occurs when Saturn’s Northern Hemisphere tilts closest to the Sun and this storm occurs every thirty years. It has been observed by astronomers for the last one-hundred and thirty five years and is still a marvel to witness!
Volatile Weather of Venus
Venus was named by the ancients after the goddess of beauty, if only they knew what Venus really was. I can’t blame them because if you see Venus in the early morning hours, it appears pink like a rose colored wine. It really is a sight to see. If you think the summers are bad on Earth, then Venus is laughing at us. Average temperatures on Venus are 900 degrees Fahrenheit, hotter than a pizza oven.
Even hotter than Mercury which is the closest planet to the Sun. The reason for this is the extreme example of the greenhouse effects on steroids. Venus is believed to be once like Earth, but the planet got so hot that it cannot cool off. Plus, the clouds on the planet are filled with sulfuric acid, which can melt your skin clean off. Yes, it does rain, acid rain in the clouds and if you were to step foot on the Venetian surface, you wouldn’t last long because the pressure is about ninety percent stronger than here on Earth. You would be burned, melted and essentially vaporized on Venus. In fact, when you hear the term “global warming” that was discovered on Venus because its a perfect example of what can happen when the weather conditions take an extreme turn!
Great Red Spot on Jupiter
Of all the storms that astronomers and scientists have observed, nothing catches the eye quite like the Great Red Spot on Jupiter. It’s a bit difficult to pinpoint who actually spotted this massive object, but two keys observers are Robert Hooke and Giovanni Cassini, who first observed this eye-catfching feature in the 17th century. This spot was later revealed to be a massive storm. In fact, it’s so big that you could fit our planet Earth in this spot and there would still be room left over. The winds have been recorded at over 350 mph and there have been smaller storms observed on the planet as well which the Great Red Spot swallows whole with no problem. The jet streams on Jupiter are much more is size and wind speed and pressure. It would be the equivalent of riding from the ground to the top of Mount Everest in a matter of seconds; a roller coaster ride from hell to say the least. Jupiter is the king in our Solar System hence its name, and nothing comes close to the astonishment that Jupiter has given us these past three-hundred years,.
So that’s it. Some of the wildest weather that’s been observed in the cosmos. What are your favorite things about these storms and truly strange worlds?