Do other planets have weather?
Well, weather consists of everything from clouds to precipitation to temperature. So, the answer is yes, every planet does have some type of weather, but none are exactly like here on Earth.
Mercury Background:
Mercury, the smallest planet in the solar system is also the closest planet to the sun and can get very hot, all year round. This tiny planet rotates very slowly and 1 full day takes 59 earth days. Since it is so close to the sun, it's full rotation around the sun takes a total of 88 earth days. This is a little bit mind blowing because it takes less than 2 days to be a full year. It is confusing to wrap your head around, but just don't think about it.
Mercury Weather:
Temperatures on Mercury can get up to 800 degrees during the day and since there is no atmosphere, the heat can just escape right into space, so overnight, temperatures will plummet to nearly -300 degrees. There is no precipitation or storms on Mercury, so it just gets really hot and really cold.
Venus Background:
Venus is the 2nd planet from the sun but is actually hotter than Mercury. Venus is a little smaller than the earth, but it spins Very slowly with 1 of its days being about 243 earth days. However, it takes 225 days for it to circle the sun, so 1 year occurs in less than 1 day. Another very interesting fact, Venus has mountain ranges amd volcanoes and is very active at the surface, but since it is so hot and there is no oxygen, humans cannot live there.
Venus Weather:
Venus can get up to 850 degrees and is so hot because of its Carbon Dioxide atmosphere which traps heat. Unlike Mercury, Venus has clouds, but they are not clouds that we normally see every day, they are sulfuric acid clouds. As you would imagine, these acidic clouds produce acid rain which is very corrosive and would completely burn through human skin if it fell on us.
Mars Background:
Mars is the 4th planet from the sun and the neighbor of earth (we are the 3rd from the sun). It is the planet that is getting a lot of hype recently since life on mars may not be impossible. It is pretty cold on Mars, but days are not unbearable, though nighttime is when there would be issues. Mars' day lasts 24.6 hours which is lined up pretty well with earth, though their year takes about 687 earth days, which is almost 2 times as long as earth. Mars does have an atmosphere though! It is roughly all Carbon Dioxide (95%) though with less than 1% being oxygen.
Mars Weather:
Mars is mainly a cold planet with daytime temperatures being roughly around 32 degrees year-round. Overnight, it can get as cold as -200 degrees which would be a little tough to consistently live in. There are also very strong winds creating dust storms which can last for days or weeks. Since the majority of Mars is a dry water bed (or so it seems) it is very dusty, just like a desert, so any amount of wind can result in a dust storm. The Rovers that we put on Mars have also showed us some signs that they had rain and even floods in the past. There are thoughts that long ago, Mars was likely warmer with a thicker atmosphere which was enough to have oceans. We are far removed from this time, but the signs in the dirt remain and tell the tale, though it likely will not go back to that point unless there is some kind of human input.
Jupiter Background:
Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system and is the 5th planet from the sun. It is made up of mostly gas, specifically Helium and Hydrogen. One fun fact is, Jupiter actually has rings like Saturn but they are very tough to see. They can be seen with only very powerful microscopes since the rings are made of dust. Also, Jupiter has the most moons out of any planet with 79 confirmed moons. Jupiter spins fast as well with 1 day being just 10 hours long. However, since it is far from the sun, Jupiter's year takes about 11.8 earth years.
Jupiter Weather:
Jupiter has a dense (hundreds of miles in depth), though dry atmosphere which is mostly made up of a Hydrogen, Helium, and a little bit of methane and ammonia. The sun is also made of these gasses, so it is very similar to the sun in terms of composition, but the conditions were not right during the formation of the planet to make it a second sun. Jupiter's atmosphere also carries clouds which are mainly made of ammonia ice crystals at the tops and regular ammonia droplets at the base of the cloud. The tops of these clouds can get as cold as -280 degrees. To put that in perspective, earths cloud temperatures can get (though rarely) as cold as -160 degrees. Underneath these clouds are a lot of wind. Winds regularly range from 192 - 400 mph which is more than double the strength of a strong Category 5 hurricane.
One thing we have all heard about is "The Great Red Spot". Some have referred to it as a hurricane, but in reality, it is a large high pressure system. Low pressures produce rain, snow, etc. but this high pressure is a massive wind storm which has speeds upwards of 250 mph.
One thing of interest is, since Jupiter is entirely as gas planet, there is no solid surface, so temperatures range from -280 degrees at the coldest / tops of the clouds, to 43,000 degrees F at the center (hotter than the sun). Immense pressure from the planet keeps its gases in, as well as heats up the core. This pressure is in correlation with Jupiter's magnetic field and is part of the reason why this planet has 79 moons.
Saturn:
Saturn is the 6th planet from the sun and nearly 900 million miles away. This is about 2 times farther than Jupiter, so you can bet that it is pretty cold there. It is another gas giant which comes with plenty of moons as well. Saturn's largest moon "Titan" is actually somewhat similar to earth. It has an atmosphere made nearly entirely out of Nitrogen (just like ours), clouds, rain, and even seasons. One issue with this is, it would take about 7 years to get there from earth and once you get there, there is no oxygen and temperatures are well into the -200s, so you would instantly freeze. Let alone, 7 years in a spaceship is a very, very long time.
Saturn's Weather:
Saturn is colder than Jupiter with a temperature around -285 degrees. Much like Jupiter, the atmosphere is made of mostly Hydrogen, though there are small amounts of Helium, Methane and Ammonia. Saturn's clouds are of Ammonia and cloud tops have reached around -400 degrees. At this point, the Ammonia freezes and drops out of the clouds. This planet is also one that is known for its wind speeds. Winds have been measured using satellite over 1,000 mph. That is more than 2 times faster than Jupiter and about 4 times more than the highest wind speed ever recorded on earth. Mount Washington holds that record with winds of 231 mph recorded in 1934. There have likely been wind speeds near 300 mph in tornadoes, but it is estimations, not physical data recorded.
Uranus:
Uranus is another large planet made mainly of gas, similar to that of Jupiter and Saturn with a mostly Hydrogen / a little bit of Methane and Ammonia atmosphere. This planet, while being 4 times wider than earth, rotates relatively quickly with 1 full day on Uranus being approximately 17 hours on earth. However, it is nearly 1,800,000,000 (1.8 billion) miles from the sun, so 1 full rotation around the sun (1 year) takes about 84 earth years. An interesting fact about Uranus is, it is rotated 98 degrees on its side, so the north and south poles are pointing outward while the equator is up and down. Something that NASA doesn't understand yet is, the poles, although getting more direct sunlight, are colder than the equator. The northern and southern parts of the equator are where the North Pole / Antarctica are on Earth, but the poles are "warmer" with average temperatures
Uranus' Weather:
Uranus is much like Saturn and Jupiter as it is very cold with clouds made of Ammonia / Methane droplets and ice crystals. Temperatures on this planet average around -353 degrees with wind speeds from 90 - 360 mph! Imagine that wind chill..Brrr. Since Uranus is on a 98 degree tilt and still rotates on its axis, there is 1 side that gets direct sunlight for 42 years and 1 side in darkness for 42 years as it makes a full revolution around the sun. There are some serious seasonal swings that occur as the sides change after 42 years. Either way, it is always frigidly cold on both sides of the planet at all times.
Neptune:
Neptune is the last planet in our solar system and nearly 2,800,000,000 (2.8 billion) miles away from the sun. This planet is another gas giant with the atmosphere made up of mostly Hydrogen and a little bit of Methane / Helium. Methane is a good absorber of red light, and when red light is absorbed, it appears blue so that is why Neptune appears so blue. Aside from this, Neptune has a fast rotation with 1 day being equivalent to 19 hours on earth. The revolution around the sun is quite long though. 1 year on Neptune takes 165 years on earth, so if we were to move out there, at least we would be young forever.
Neptune Weather:
Neptune is the farthest from the sun so it is the coldest planet in the solar system with an average temperature of -373 degrees. One of its moons "Triton" is even colder with a temperature recorded at -391 degrees, the coldest in the solar system. Absolute 0, which is the coldest temperature possible with no heat energy at all is only 68 degrees colder than Triton. Back to Neptune though, there are cirrus clouds (high thin clouds) which are made of Methane crystals. There is a cirrus cloud nicknamed "Scooter" because it races around the planet every 16 hours! Remember, Neptune is around 4 times wider than earth, so this little cloud is moving at an awfully fast clip. Another notable phenomenon is Neptune's dark spot, similar to "The Great Red Spot" on Jupiter, but this is not a storm. It is an area with a methane hole, so it appears darker since the amount of red light being absorbed is much less than the rest of the planet. This methane free hole moves around the planet at 700 mph. To put this in perspective with how fast the cirrus clouds are moving, this "Great Dark Spot" circles the planet in roughly 138 hours, about 8.6 times slower than the clouds which is pretty remarkable.
To find out much more about weather on other planets, or general information, you can take a look at this website below:
https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/weather-on-other-planets/en/
You can also check out https://www.weather.gov/fsd/uranus and change the planet name at the end of the URL to any planet you would like to learn more about! Space weather is an ever evolving science which is still very new to us, so we will be learning more and more as technology gets better!
