- 1Leiden University
- 2Netherlands Institute for Space Research
- 3Tsinghua University
The atmosphere of the hot super Earth 55 Cnc e shows strong variability, for which cloud formation above a molten crust could be one possible explanation. If cloud formation takes place in a planetary atmosphere this affects the gas composition, its cooling and heating rates and it can dim or lead to spectral features. We have run cloud formation models for atmospheres of hot super Earths with various oxidation states. Our models combine radiative transfer with equilibrium chemistry of the gaseous and condensed phases, vertical mixing of condensable species, sedimentation, nucleation and coagulation. In this talk I will present the results of this study, focusing on the impact of the oxidation state of rocky planet atmospheres on cloud stability and composition. I will also discuss the main spectroscopic features which we can expect from these clouds in the wavelength range covered by JWST and Ariel.
How to cite: Janssen, L., Miguel, Y., Min, M., Huang, H., Zilinskas, M., and van Buchem, C. P. A.: Exotic clouds on molten super-Earths, Europlanet Science Congress 2026, The Hague, The Netherlands, 7–11 Sep 2026, EPSC2026-1240, https://doi.org/10.5194/epsc2026-1240, 2026.