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Quiz: Our world, other worlds

Test your knowledge of how Earth is different from other planets, both within our solar system and beyond.

Test your knowledge of how Earth is different from other planets, both within our solar system and beyond.

You can browse a gallery containing this quiz and others here.

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NASA Climate Change website

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This visualization shows the complex patterns of methane emissions produced globally from January 2018 to November 2018.
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Video: Methane Sources
Video: Methane Sources
Perhaps the most impressive of cloud formations, cumulonimbus (from the Latin for “pile” and “rain cloud”) clouds form due to vigorous convection (rising and overturning) of warm, moist and unstable air. Surface air is warmed by the sun-heated ground surface and rises; if sufficient atmospheric moisture is present, water droplets will condense as the air mass encounters cooler air at higher altitudes. The air mass itself also expands and cools as it rises due to decreasing atmospheric pressure, a process known as adiabatic cooling. This type of convection is common in tropical latitudes year-round and during the summer season at higher latitudes. As water in the rising air mass condenses and changes from a gas to a liquid state, it releases energy to its surroundings, further heating the surrounding air and leading to more convection and rising of the cloud mass to higher altitudes. This leads to the characteristic vertical “towers” associated with cumulonimbus clouds, an excellent example of which is visible in this astronaut photograph. If enough moisture is present to condense and heat the cloud mass through several convective cycles, a tower can rise to altitudes of approximately 10 kilometers at high latitudes and to 20 kilometers in the tropics before encountering a region of the atmosphere known as the tropopause—the boundary between the troposphere and the stratosphere. The tropopause is characterized by a strong temperature inversion. Beyond the tropopause, the air no longer gets colder as altitude increases. The tropopause halts further upward motion of the cloud mass. The cloud tops flatten and spread into an anvil shape, as illustrated by this astronaut photograph. The photo was taken from a viewpoint that was at an angle from the vertical, rather than looking straight down towards the Earth’s surface. The image, taken while the International Space Station was located over western Africa near the Senegal-Mali border, shows a fully formed anvil cloud with numerous smaller cumulonimbus towers rising near it. The high energy levels of these storm systems typically make them hazardous due to associated heavy precipitation, lightning, high wind speeds and possible tornadoes.
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Cumulonimbus cloud over Africa
Cumulonimbus cloud over Africa
This image shows a spinning formation of ice, clouds and low-lying fog off the eastern coast of Greenland. This image was acquired by the Landsat 7 satellite on May 14, 2001. This is a false-color composite image made using infrared, red and green wavelengths.
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Whirlpool
Whirlpool
Graphic: Global surface temperature changes versus the Sun's energy that Earth receives in watts (units of energy) per square meter since 1880.
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Temperature vs Solar Activity
Graphic: Temperature vs Solar Activity
Las nubes son complicadas cuando se trata de la ciencia del clima, ya que calientan y enfrían la Tierra.
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Las nubes.
Las nubes
NASA's new Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 space satellite will probe the carbon cycle like never before, telling us where the carbon is going and giving us clues as to where we will end up.
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Atmospheric carbon dioxide ...
Graphic: Measuring carbon dioxide from space
Video: Southern Hemisphere ozone between July 1 and December 31 for selected years between 1979 and 2018.
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Video: Ozone Watch 2018
Video: Ozone Watch 2018
This view of Earth from space is a fusion of science and art, drawing on data from multiple satellite missions and the talents of NASA scientists and graphic artists.
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Twin Blue Marbles
Twin Blue Marbles
Graphic: A simplified animation of the greenhouse effect.
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The Greenhouse Effect
Graphic: The Greenhouse Effect
Desde 1978, la NASA ha estado monitoreando los vientos oceánicos a través de la dispersometría, cuyos datos han mejorado los pronósticos meteorológicos y de huracanes y nos han ayudado a comprender mejor los patrones climáticos globales.
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Los vientos oceánicos
Los vientos oceánicos
Los aerosoles son diminutas partículas sólidas y líquidas suspendidas en la atmósfera.
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Me llamo Aerosol
Me llamo Aerosol
Learn how you can explore Eyes on the Earth's many features, including real-time data visualizations of Earth's vital signs and 3D models of Earth-orbiting satellite missions.
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Tutorial: NASA's Eyes on th...
Tutorial: NASA's Eyes on the Earth
This visualization presents methane emissions across the United States for the year 2012.
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Video: Methane Emissions in...
Video: Methane Emissions in the United States
Land. Water. Fire. Ice. These elements are basic ingredients that make up planet Earth. Take a moment to admire the magnificent spectacle of our stunning home planet from the perspective of space.
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Land. Water. Fire. Ice. The...
Video: Majestic Planet
How much do you know about glaciers and ice caps?
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Test your knowledge of the ...
Quiz: Ice and glaciers
Video: The ocean's important role in absorbing heat and carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
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Ocean circulation plays an ...
Video: Ocean circulation plays an important role in absorbing carbon from the atmosphere
A graphic briefly explains the relationship between volcanoes and climate change.
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Graphic: Volcanoes and Clim...
Graphic: Volcanoes and Climate Change
NASA scientists are working to understand if our land and ocean can continue to absorb carbon dioxide at the current rate – and for how long.
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Infographic: Earth's carbon...
Infographic: Earth's carbon cycle is off balance
This animation shows how various temperature records and Arctic sea ice have changed between 1850 and 2018 from human and natural drivers of climate change.
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Human and Natural Drivers o...
Human and Natural Drivers of Climate Change (1850-2018)
The IPCC's four key findings
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The IPCC's four key findings
Graphic: The IPCC's four key findings
Test your knowledge about global temperature change and its impact on Earth's climate.
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Test your knowledge about g...
Quiz: Global warming
Carbon dioxide is the main heat-trapping greenhouse gas that humans emit. How much do you know about it and its impact on global warming and climate change?
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Carbon dioxide quiz - how m...
Quiz: Carbon dioxide
Video: Simulation of global clouds and aerosols from September 1, 2005, to December 31, 2005.
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Video: Simulated clouds and...
Video: Simulated clouds and aerosols
A detailed look at Jupiter's and Earth's atmospheres and cores as we unlock mysteries of the solar system.
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Jupiter and Earth: Giant di...
Infographic: Jupiter and Earth: Giant discoveries ahead
Video: Using observations from NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO-2) satellite, scientists developed a model of the behavior of carbon in the atmosphere from September 1, 2014 to August 31, 2015.
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Following carbon dioxide th...
Video: Following atmospheric carbon dioxide

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Interactives, galleries and apps

Images of Change

Images of Change

Explore a stunning gallery of before-and-after images of Earth from land and space that reveal our home planet in a state of flux.
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Climate Time Machine

Climate Time Machine

Travel through Earth's recent climate history and see how increasing carbon dioxide, global temperature and sea ice have changed over time.
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Eyes on the Earth

Eyes on the Earth

Track Earth's vital signs from space and fly along with NASA's Earth-observing satellites in an interactive 3D visualization.
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Global Ice Viewer

Global Ice Viewer

Earth's ice cover is shrinking. See how climate change has affected glaciers, sea ice, and continental ice sheets.
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