Exoplanet Clouds

Clouds, which are common features in Earth's atmosphere, form in atmospheres of planets that orbit other stars than our Sun, in so-called extrasolar planets or exoplanets. Exoplanet atmospheres can be chemically extremely rich. Exoplanet clouds are therefore composed of a mix of materials that changes throughout the atmosphere. They affect atmospheres through element depletion and through absorption and scattering; hence, they have a profound impact on an atmosphere's energy budget. While astronomical observations point us to the presence of extrasolar clouds and make first suggestions on particle size and material composition, we require fundamental and complex modeling work to merge the individual observations into a coherent picture. Part of this work includes developing an understanding of cloud formation in nonterrestrial environments.