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Ars Technica· This weekTechnology

A 1,000-mile cloud on Mars may reveal physics never seen in nature

A new study published in Nature Geoscience suggests a cloud on Mars may form without the tiny particles that clouds on Earth usually need. Researchers say the cloud, which stretches about 1,000 miles, may come from vapour turning straight into ice crystals on its own. Extreme conditions appear to be required, including a sharp temperature drop of 30 degrees Celsius within 10 minutes. The Arsia Mons volcano may help create these conditions by pushing moist air high into the atmosphere. Hernández-Bernal said the result was remarkable, given how little is known about the Martian atmosphere.

Wired AI· This weekTechnology

The ‘Exotic Physics’ Behind a Mysterious 1,000-Mile Cloud on Mars

Researchers have modelled, for the first time, a long cloud that appears each morning on Mars near the volcano Arsia Mons. Scientists had been unable to explain the cloud since a probe first recorded it in 2018. The team says the cloud may form through homogeneous nucleation, in which vapour turns directly into ice crystals without dust or other particles. Lead author Jorge Hernández-Bernal, of Sorbonne Université, said the physics had never been seen in action in any planet's atmosphere. The findings were published in Nature Geoscience.

Ars Technica· A while agoTechnology

Things are finally looking up for NASA's first missions to Venus in a generation

NASA's DAVINCI probe is now scheduled to launch to Venus in December 2030, a year earlier than previously planned. The probe will descend through the planet's atmosphere and return the first direct images of its surface since 1982. A second NASA mission, VERITAS, is now funded with a launch date of November 2032 to map Venus's surface by radar from orbit. Both missions were helped by budget changes, including NASA pulling out of a partnership with Europe on the Envision orbiter.

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A 1,000-mile cloud on Mars may reveal physics never seen in nature

The ‘Exotic Physics’ Behind a Mysterious 1,000-Mile Cloud on Mars

Things are finally looking up for NASA's first missions to Venus in a generation

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A 1,000-mile cloud on Mars may reveal physics never seen in nature

The ‘Exotic Physics’ Behind a Mysterious 1,000-Mile Cloud on Mars

Things are finally looking up for NASA's first missions to Venus in a generation