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This review describes the dynamic phenomena in the atmosphere of Mars that are visible in images taken in the visual range through cloud formation and dust lifting. We describe the properties of atmospheric features traced by aerosols covering a large range of spatial and temporal scales, including dynamical interpretations and modelling when available. We present the areographic distribution and the daily and seasonal cycles of those atmospheric phenomena. We rely primarily on images taken by cameras on Mars Express. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

NASA's Mars 2020 (M2020) rover mission includes a suite of sensors to monitor current environmental conditions near the surface of Mars and to constrain bulk aerosol properties from changes in atmospheric radiation at the surface. The Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA) consists of a set of meteorological sensors including wind sensor, a barometer, a relative humidity sensor, a set of 5 thermocouples to measure atmospheric temperature at ∼1.5 m and ∼0.5 m above the surface, a set of thermopiles to characterize the thermal IR brightness temperatures of the surface and the lower atmosphere. MEDA adds a radiation and dust sensor to monitor the optical atmospheric properties that can be used to infer bulk aerosol physical properties such as particle size distribution, non-sphericity, and concentration. The MEDA package and its scientific purpose are described in this document as well as how it responded to the calibration tests and how it helps prepare for the human exploration of Mars. A comparison is also presented to previous environmental monitoring payloads landed on Mars on the Viking, Pathfinder, Phoenix, MSL, and InSight spacecraft. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In June 2015, Cassini high-resolution images of Saturn's limb southwards of the planet's hexagonal wave revealed a system of at least six stacked haze layers above the upper cloud deck. Here, we characterize those haze layers and discuss their nature. Vertical thickness of layers ranged from 7 to 18 km, and they extended in altitude ∼130 km, from pressure level 0.5 bar to 0.01 bar. Above them, a thin but extended aerosol layer reached altitude ∼340 km (0.4 mbar). Radiative transfer modeling of spectral reflectivity shows that haze properties are consistent with particles of diameter 0.07–1.4 μm and number density 100–500 cm−3. The nature of the hazes is compatible with their formation by condensation of hydrocarbon ices, including acetylene and benzene at higher altitudes. Their vertical distribution could be due to upward propagating gravity waves generated by dynamical forcing by the hexagon and its associated eastward jet. The authors analyze a system of multi-layered hazes above Saturn's hexagonal-wave cloud tops in the visual range. Analyses suggest the formation to be caused by condensation processes, and the vertical distribution of stacked layers by the upward propagation of internal gravity waves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Saturn's Great White Spots are rare planetary-scale storms that have been observed only six times since 1876. The most recent Great White Spot appeared in December 2010 and has been studied from both ground-based and spacecraft observations. The storm developed into an enormous disturbance extending over 10,000 km at cloud level, emitted intense electrostatic discharges over several months, and caused long-standing localized warming in the high stratosphere of about 60 K. Here we analyse the dynamics of the storm's head using high-resolution imagery obtained by the Cassini spacecraft on 26 February 2011. We find strong winds with speeds up to 160 m s−1 and organized into a divergent open anticyclone where massive cumulus-like cloud clusters interact with the ambient zonal flow to generate a storm front. The cloud clusters evolved over a timescale of hours, with cloud tops reaching 44 km above the undisturbed environment. Simulations using a general circulation model, which includes Saturn's zonal winds, reproduce the observations when a persistent heat source is introduced, causing a high-pressure anomaly. We conclude that the complex phenomenology of a mature Great White Spot represents a natural response of the saturnian atmosphere to severe sustained convection in a sheared background flow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]