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atmosphere

Earth

These strange lines of cloud are seeded by pollution from ships

Much as an aeroplane leaves contrails, streaks of white cloud condense onto the tiny particles thrown into the air by the exhausts of travelling ships

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cloud trails

Earth

Spectacular light pillars rise up in frozen North America

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light pillars

Space

Mars rocks may have drunk up all the water and doomed life there

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Mars
Nocturnal sun artwork

Earth

Bright skies at night: The riddle of the nocturnal sun

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Hot springs, Yellowstone National Park

Life

Ancient microbes caused Earth’s first ever global warming

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Space

We may know why Jupiter's Great Red Spot is red instead of white

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A layer of haze keeps Pluto’s atmosphere extremely cold

Space

A layer of haze keeps Pluto’s atmosphere extremely cold

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Orange coral on a reef

Earth

Dimming the sun could save corals from bleaching and hurricanes

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Moon

Space

Lunar volcanoes and lava lakes gave the early moon an atmosphere

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Earth

A few cold drops falling through a cloud could create a downpour

One raindrop that is less than 4°C cooler than the surrounding cloud can trigger a rapid burst of microdroplets, which can spawn a sudden rainstorm

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Rainfall

Earth

Lightning storms triggered by exhaust from cargo ships

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Space

Jupiter’s powerful aurora is surprisingly different from Earth’s

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Earth

The ethics issue: Should we geoengineer the planet?

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Space

Our young moon’s supersonic winds made waves in its magma ocean

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