Astronomers have tried to photograph the Ashen Light, but sightings are so unusual and random that all attempts so far have failed. However, this explanation doesn’t make sense with Venus because it has no large orbiting body nearby. As they are close enough to a large planet, the light from the Sun can reach them at odd angles by bouncing off the planet they orbit. This makes sense in the case of moons such as ours. It has been described as being similar to “ earthshine,” which occurs when sunlight reflected from the Earth illuminates the dark parts of the Moon. Unlike the other entries on this list, the very existence of the Ashen Light is up for scientific debate. įirst observed in 1643, the Ashen Light of Venus is a phenomenon that lights up the dark side of the planet, making it visible to observers looking through telescopes. One theory is that it may be caused by millions of nano-sized solar flares that pop up on the Sun’s surface every second, transferring energy from the surface to the atmosphere above. Then why is it so much hotter than the Sun’s bright surface? The Sun’s corona is so faint that you can only see it during a solar eclipse. Although the surface is around 5,500 degrees Celsius (9,900 ☏), the less visible atmosphere above the surface (known as the corona) can get several times hotter–between 1–10 million degrees Celsius (1.7–17 million ☏). The Sun’s surface (the part of the Sun that blinds you when you look at it directly) is quite hot, to put it lightly. (If this is the case, it’ll most likely be bacteria that live beneath the surface.) 3 The Sun’s Upper Atmosphere Is Much Hotter Than Its Surface Of course, the more exciting theory is that the methane changes are caused by life. For example, the methane may be absorbed and released by rocks on the surface depending on the season. Scientists have a few theories about what causes it. What’s more, this variation seems to happen based on the seasons. But the small amount of methane found on Mars is exciting because the quantity varies quite frequently. Mars has nothing quite like the quantity of methane on Earth. (You may have heard that methane is an important component of cow farts, for example.) However, methane can also be created through nonbiological means, so it doesn’t guarantee the existence of life. This is because methane is a common byproduct of life. Though methane has been found to exist on many planets, astronomers still get excited whenever they discover it. In turn, this explains the unusual amount of energy radiating from this otherwise very cold giant. These diamonds then rain down, producing heat from friction caused as they fall in the heavy atmosphere. The theory goes a little like this: Neptune’s atmospheric pressure causes the methane in its atmosphere to compress into diamonds. Probably the coolest theory speculates that it may be due to diamond rains. This is because Neptune somehow radiates more than twice the amount of energy it gets from the Sun. Although it isn’t a tropical paradise by any means-surface temperatures typically don’t get any higher than -200 degrees Celsius (-328 ☏)-astronomers don’t believe that Neptune is really quite as cold as it should be. Neptune is officially the farthest planet away from the Sun. Just look at Pluto: The warmest location on Pluto is about -223 degrees Celsius (-369 ☏), and scientists think the dwarf planet once had rivers of liquid nitrogen crossing its surface. If a planet is far enough away from the Sun, you sort of expect it to be an icy hellscape. But for the most part, they remain a mystery.ĩ Saturn’s Moon Iapetus Is Shaped Like A Walnut Theories have been proposed as to what causes these oddly angular storms. The beehive-like pattern on Jupiter seems unique, however. In 1988, scientists discovered a giant hexagonal cyclone on one of Saturn’s poles. Jupiter isn’t the only gas giant whose storms seem to favor a six-sided, angular shape. A strange phenomenon about the cyclones on Jupiter was recently discovered: These storms often take on hexagonal shapes, forming a honeycomb-like structure around both of the gas giant’s poles. Depending on where you live, you may be better acquainted with them as “hurricanes” or “typhoons.” Generally speaking, the cyclones on Earth have a fairly rounded shape with an “eye” in the center.īut that isn’t true for the storms on some gas giants. These storms come by many names on this planet. Cyclones exist on most planets that have an atmosphere and moisture beneath their clouds–including our very own Earth.
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