It Snows Metal on Venus

When NASA's Magellan spacecraft mapped Venus with radar in the early 1990s, it revealed a strange phenomenon: the highest mountain peaks were incredibly reflective, appearing far brighter than the surrounding lowlands. This wasn't the glint of water ice, as Venus's surface is hot enough to melt lead. Instead, scientists have pieced together a theory involving a bizarre atmospheric cycle. The planet's scorching lowlands, with temperatures around 870°F (465°C), are hot enough to vaporize certain metallic minerals present in the rock, turning them into a gas.

This metallic vapor then rises through the dense atmosphere, much like water vapor does on Earth. As it reaches the higher altitudes of mountain ranges like Maxwell Montes, the temperature drops to a relatively cooler 700°F (370°C). This drop is just enough for the metallic gas to condense and precipitate onto the surface, forming a thin, highly reflective frost. The leading candidates for this metallic "snow" are lead sulfide (galena) and bismuth sulfide. So, instead of being capped with pristine white ice, the highest mountains on Venus are likely dusted with a shimmering layer of heavy metal.