Are there hurricanes on other planets?

Weather of Arabia - Hurricane Tej, Shaheen, Irene, and other dangerous hurricanes are considered just a child compared to the large hurricanes found on the giant planets in the solar system, as huge rotating storms arise on planets such as Jupiter and Saturn, and their size can exceed the entire Earth, and scientists explain that these Storms, although not fueled by warm ocean water like land-based hurricanes, show striking similarities in some aspects.

In light of these enormous natural phenomena, atmospheric scientist Andrew Ingersoll, who works at the California Institute of Technology and participated in NASA's Cassini mission that explored Saturn, confirmed that

“There are storms accompanied by thunder, lightning, and tremendous rain that are much greater than those of land-based hurricanes.” He pointed out that "the intensity of the winds on those planets far exceeds the intensity of the winds on Earth."

Hurricanes on other planets

Hurricane Irene is about 600 miles (966 kilometers) long as it reaches the East Coast of the United States, and despite its size and horror, it is considered minor compared to the giant storms that sweep through the gas giant planets in our solar system.

Planet Mercury

Have you ever thought about a small meteor shower to start your day? It is a distinctive occurrence on Mercury, the planet closest to the sun, where daytime temperatures exceed 800 degrees Fahrenheit (about 430 degrees Celsius). In addition, Mercury is characterized by its weak gravity, as it is only about 38% of Earth’s gravity, which makes it difficult for it to To maintain a tangible atmosphere.

Its thin atmosphere means that Mercury doesn't have atmospheric storms like Earth, but it does have a unique phenomenon; As it is exposed to small meteor showers in the morning, micrometeorites or small dust particles explode on its surface.

What also distinguishes Mercury is the presence of magnetic “tornadoes,” which are twisted bundles of magnetic fields that connect the planet’s magnetic field to space. It was studied by NASA's Mercury MESSENGER spacecraft during its second flyby on October 6, 2008.

Venus

Venus, often referred to as "Earth's twin," reflects a completely contradictory reality. Although the two planets are similar in size and structure, Venus is considered the hottest planet in our solar system, with temperatures exceeding 900 degrees Fahrenheit (about 480 Degrees Celsius) under the ceiling of sulfuric acid clouds and high atmospheric pressure.

In addition to this challenge, the planet Venus is characterized by the presence of lightning that exceeds that of Earth , and this was confirmed by Christopher Russell, the scientist supervising the Venus Express mission that was carried out in cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency, which is the team that discovered lightning on the planet. Indeed, Venus is not A suitable holiday destination, there is no doubt about that.

Visually, Venus appears bright white in the space sky due to the presence of dense clouds, and earlier this year, Japanese researchers discovered huge line-like structures on the surface of this planet based on observations coming from the Japanese Aerospace Agency’s Akatsuki spacecraft, which... It revolves around the planet Venus.

Planet Mars

Mars has huge dust storms and a cloudy atmosphere. Mars is known for its violent dust storms , including some storms that grow to completely surround the planet. In 2018, we witnessed a huge global dust storm that covered the entire planet Mars, and the American rover mission “Opportunity” was closed after 15 years of its work on the planet’s surface. .

Mars is characterized by a thin atmosphere composed mainly of carbon dioxide, and to the human eye, the Martian sky appears hazy and reddish due to the dense dust suspended in the atmosphere.

Dust storms pose major challenges for future Mars missions, as they can affect electronic and mechanical systems, in addition to affecting the health of astronauts. However, dust storms on Mars are not as severe as those depicted in movies.

Saturn

In December, a thunderstorm about 6,200 miles (10,000 km) wide broke out on Saturn. This spot, known as the Great White Spot, is still strong, and some of its clouds have wrapped all the way around the ringed planet and also caused a lot of... Lightning, just like thunderstorms here on Earth.

According to Andrew Ingersoll of the California Institute of Technology:

“We can see flashes of lightning on Saturn's night side, and we can hear radio static produced by the lightning, and this energy is much stronger than terrestrial lightning.”

It is also worth noting that astronomers observed a hurricane at the south pole of the planet Neptune , where it was thousands of miles wide. This hurricane resembled a previous rotating storm discovered at the south pole of the planet Saturn. Although these storms resemble an Earth hurricane, Saturn’s polar vortex was Much larger, about 2,500 miles (4,000 km) in diameter, while the eye of a typical land hurricane is only 2 or 3 miles across.

Titan... Saturn's moon

Titan is characterized by the presence of huge rivers, lakes and seas, similar to the water cycle on Earth. On Titan, rain falls from the clouds, flows across the surface, fills the lakes and seas, and then evaporates again in the atmosphere, but the main difference is that these fluids consist of methane gas instead of water.

Data sent from the Cassini spacecraft indicate the presence of huge dust storms in Titan's equatorial regions, and this makes Titan the third body in the solar system, next to Earth and Mars, in which dust storms have been observed.

Neptune

The ice giant in our solar system is characterized by being the windiest planet, with winds blowing at tremendous speeds of more than 1,200 miles per hour (2,000 kilometers per hour), which is approximately nine times the speed of winds on Earth.

Neptune also has huge storm systems; In 1989, NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft spotted two giant storms on this distant planet as it approached it. Scientists called these storms the "Great Dark Spot" and "Dark Spot 2."

Five years later, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope visualized Neptune from its position in Earth's orbit, and scientists were hoping to observe storms again, but those storms completely disappeared. Looking at things now, scientists believe that new storms appear on Neptune periodically, between four and six years. It remains effective for up to six years.

How do hurricanes form on other planets?

Here on the surface of the Earth, hurricanes derive their energy from the warm waters of the oceans. The process of this phenomenon is the rise of warm, moist air over the tropical and subtropical sea regions, which leads to a decrease in the air pressure below. This vacuum is filled with high-pressure air from the surrounding areas and with Over time, this air warms, turning into moist air that also rises. By repeating this process, massive storms are created.

Regarding Jupiter and Saturn , they do not have oceans like on Earth and therefore, their rotating storms are not exactly “hurricanes” in the sense we know on Earth. However, similar processes occur that lead to the formation of these storms, which is what Ingersoll pointed out.

Ingersoll explained:

“Heat plays a crucial role in this process, as hot air rises, moisture condenses and rains form, which releases energy and thus, energy and moisture come together.”

On Earth, most of the energy fueling hurricanes comes from the Sun. However, the situation can be very different on Jupiter and Saturn, where they are in orbits much farther away than Earth. Ingersoll explains:

"They're massive enough to retain some of their formative heat, so their planets can generate these massive storms."

As for other planets in the solar system, such as Venus and Mars, the lack of warm oceans makes things very different, Ingersoll explained:

"The giant planets have moisture lurking beneath the clouds but Venus, for example, doesn't. It's dry and hot. It's a completely different world. And for Mars, it's cold and dry."

The Great White Spot on Saturn tends to erupt violently every few decades, creating contrasting periods of calm and quiet for hurricanes. However, scientists are still torn about why the giant planets have rare, massive storms.

Regarding this matter, Ingersoll stated that:

“Somehow, they seem to conserve that energy for long periods of time, and then release it in massive, violent storms,” she explained. “It's not necessary, but they choose to do it.”

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Sources:

nasa

space. space