Clouds
Clouds may be made of water on Earth but they can be made of methane and acids on other planets!
Clouds aren’t made of cotton wool, they’re made of water! As water evaporates (becomes a gas) from lakes, seas, and rivers it rises up through the sky. As it gets higher the temperature is colder and, because the temperature drops, the water condenses (becomes water again). The water is in tiny droplets so it stays up in the air but when there is enough droplets (or the temperature becomes relatively colder quickly) the droplets become bigger and fall down as rain. As the rain falls the clouds disappear as there is less water to form them.
Clouds can look really different. The amount of water in them, as well as, the temperature and air pressure can change their appearance. There are 5 main forms that clouds can take. Stratus clouds are low laying clouds that look very flat and uniform. Cirrus clouds are much wispier looking like threads across the sky. Stratocumulus clouds are large rounded clouds often with dark patches within them. Cumulus clouds are quite spread out fluffy white clouds. Cumulonimbus clouds are usually seen during a storm. They are very tall clouds with wide flat bases and can produce lightning and other storm-like conditions. Clouds in these 5 main forms can then be further identified based on the altitude of the clouds. Try guessing what types of cloud you can see today!