, JAKARTA — Clouds on Earth are formed by ice crystals or water droplets floating in the atmosphere. However, did you know that some distant planets have sand-based clouds?
reported from earth sky, The clouds in this peculiar atmosphere are made of tiny silicate dust particles. In a report published in May 2022, scientists claim to have seen for the first time how these sandy clouds appear.
These sandy clouds are present in brown dwarfs and exoplanets. Different types of clouds exist on other planets in our solar system. For example, Mars has clouds of ice containing carbon dioxide and water.
High altitude clouds based on ammonia and ammonium hydrosulfide can be found on Jupiter. Some distant planets also have sand clouds, which form from rock-forming silicate minerals.
These sand clouds have been observed on many exoplanets, or planets, as well as brown dwarfs outside our solar system. Brown dwarfs are unusual celestial bodies that are larger than planets.
In a new study, researchers at Western University in Ontario, Canada, investigated the formation of these silicate clouds in brown dwarfs using data from the now-retired Spitzer Space Telescope. The results are published in the journal Peer-reviewed monthly notice of the Royal Astronomical Society July 2022 edition.
How do sand clouds form?
Every cloud forms in the same way when a significant component is heated or hot enough to evaporate. The ice particles can evaporate and form clouds of water vapor on Earth.
On other planets, including Mars and Jupiter, clouds can arise from a variety of sources. It may contain sulfur, salt or ammonia.
However, only warm worlds can support silicate clouds, which are sometimes known as sand clouds. This is because silicates can only evaporate at high temperatures. Atmospheric temperatures range from about 1,000 °C to 1,700 °C in the formation of silicate clouds.
