{ "count": 140, "next": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/api/search/?limit=100&offset=100&search=%22Solar+Radiation%22", "previous": null, "results": [ { "id": 14988, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14988/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2026-03-16T14:00:00-04:00", "title": "Artemis II: Into the Path of Solar Eruptions", "description": "For the first time in half a century, four astronauts are leaving Earth’s protective magnetic field. They’ll enter a realm where massive solar eruptions can unleash more energy than a billion hydrogen bombs. The Artemis II crew will fly through a dangerous environment, but they’re not going it alone. On the voyage, the astronauts and their Orion capsule are outfitted with radiation trackers as ground teams monitor solar eruptions 24/7. Here’s how NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are protecting explorers from the most powerful eruptions in the solar system. Learn more: https://science.nasa.gov/missions/artemis/artemis-2/to-protect-artemis-ii-astronauts-nasa-experts-keep-eyes-on-sun/ || ", "hits": 2867 }, { "id": 40548, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/solarand-heliospheric-observatory-soho/", "result_type": "Gallery", "release_date": "2026-03-03T00:00:00-05:00", "title": "SOHO – Solar and Heliospheric Observatory", "description": "Launched in December 1995, the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) is a joint mission between NASA and ESA (European Space Agency) designed to study the Sun inside out. Though its mission was originally scheduled to last until 1998, SOHO continues to collect observations about the Sun’s interior, the solar atmosphere, and the constant stream of solar particles known as the solar wind, adding to scientists' understanding of our closest star and making many new discoveries, including finding more than 5,000 comets.\n\nLearn more: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/soho/", "hits": 506 }, { "id": 14956, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14956/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2026-01-26T16:00:00-05:00", "title": "Space Weather Effects Animations", "description": "Solar flares, coronal mass ejections, solar particle events, and the solar wind form the recipe for space weather that affects life on Earth and astronauts in space. A farmer stops their planting operations due to poor GPS signal for their autonomous tractor. A power grid manager changes the configuration of their network to ensure a blackout doesn’t occur due to voltage instability. A pilot switches to back-up communication equipment due to loss of high-frequency radio. A commercial internet company providing service to the military must change the orbit of their spacecraft to avoid a collision due to increased atmospheric drag.These are a few examples of the ways the Sun influences our everyday lives. This is what we define as space weather – the conditions of the space environment driven by the Sun and it’s impacts on objects in the solar system. Learn more about space weather: https://science.nasa.gov/space-weather-2/ || ", "hits": 574 }, { "id": 14885, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14885/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2025-09-12T06:00:00-04:00", "title": "NASA Interview Opportunity: Groundbreaking New NASA Mission Will Give Us The Most Detailed Look Yet At Our Solar System’s Shield", "description": "Scroll down page for associated cut b-roll and pre-recorded soundbites. || IMAP_banner.jpeg (1600x640) [185.0 KB] || IMAP_banner_print.jpg (1024x409) [110.6 KB] || IMAP_banner_searchweb.png (320x180) [73.1 KB] || IMAP_banner_thm.png (80x40) [6.7 KB] || ", "hits": 145 }, { "id": 40532, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/punch/", "result_type": "Gallery", "release_date": "2025-01-22T00:00:00-05:00", "title": "PUNCH – Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere", "description": "NASA’s Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere (PUNCH) mission is a constellation of four small satellites in low Earth orbit capturing global, 3D observations of the Sun's corona to better understand how the mass and energy there becomes the solar wind, a stream of charged particles from the Sun that fills the solar system. By using PUNCH to image the Sun’s corona and the solar wind together, scientists hope to better understand the entire inner heliosphere — including the Sun, solar wind, and Earth — as a single connected system.\n\nPUNCH launched on March 11, 2025, from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.\n\nLearn more: science.nasa.gov/mission/punch", "hits": 235 }, { "id": 14739, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14739/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2025-01-03T12:00:00-05:00", "title": "From the Moon, NASA’s LEXI Will Reveal Earth’s Magnetic Shield", "description": "NASA’s next mission to the Moon will carry an instrument called LEXI (the Lunar Environment Heliospheric X-ray Imager), which will provide the first-ever global view of the magnetic environment that shields Earth from solar radiation.From the surface of the Moon, LEXI will capture wide-field images of Earth's magnetic environment, or magnetosphere, in low-energy (or \"soft\") X-rays. LEXI will study changes in the magnetosphere and help us learn more about how it interacts with a stream of particles from the Sun called the solar wind, which can pose hazards for Artemis astronauts traveling to the Moon.Learn more about LEXI and its CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) flight to the Moon from Hyunju Connor, LEXI co-investigator at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.More on LEXI: https://science.nasa.gov/science-research/heliophysics/nasas-lexi-will-provide-x-ray-vision-of-earths-magnetosphere/ || ", "hits": 198 }, { "id": 5423, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5423/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2024-11-27T11:00:00-05:00", "title": "Gravity waves disturbing the stratospheric polar vortex", "description": "Animation 1: Changes in temperature and height on the surface of 850 Kelvin potential temperature. The mountain generated gravity waves create strong cooling  as the gravity waves propagate through the stratosphere, while the polar vortex (the cold blue ring) evolves to become colder. || stratospher850_039_T.02498_print.jpg (1024x576) [108.0 KB] || stratospher850_039_T.02498_searchweb.png (320x180) [50.4 KB] || stratospher850_039_T.02498_thm.png (80x40) [4.2 KB] || stratospher850_039_T_1080p30.mp4 (1920x1080) [52.0 MB] || stratospher850_039_T [0 Item(s)] || stratospher850_039_T.mp4 (3840x2160) [148.7 MB] || stratospher850_039_T.mp4.hwshow || ", "hits": 105 }, { "id": 14685, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14685/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2024-10-15T15:00:00-04:00", "title": "What is Solar Maximum?", "description": "The Sun is stirring from its latest slumber. As sunspots and flares bubble from the Sun’s surface, representatives from NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency (NOAA), and the Solar Cycle Prediction Panel announced on Tuesday, September 24, 2024, the Sun has reached its solar maximum period.The solar cycle is the natural cycle of the Sun as it transitions between low and high activity. During the most active part of the cycle, known as solar maximum, the Sun can unleash immense explosions of light, energy, and solar radiation — all of which create conditions known as space weather. Space weather can affect satellites and astronauts in space, as well as communications systems — such as radio and GPS — and power grids on Earth. || ", "hits": 321 }, { "id": 14683, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14683/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2024-10-15T13:30:00-04:00", "title": "NASA, NOAA Announce That the Sun Has Reached the Solar Maximum Period", "description": "In a teleconference with reporters on Tuesday, October 15, 2024, representatives from NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency (NOAA), and the Solar Cycle Prediction Panel announced the Sun has reached its solar maximum period.The solar cycle is the natural cycle of the Sun as it transitions between low and high activity. Roughly every 11 years, at the height of the solar cycle, the Sun’s magnetic poles flip — on Earth, that’d be like the North and South Poles swapping places every decade — and the Sun transitions from sluggish to active and stormy.During the most active part of the cycle, known as solar maximum, the Sun can unleash immense explosions of light, energy, and solar radiation — all of which create conditions known as space weather. Space weather can affect satellites and astronauts in space, as well as communications systems — such as radio and GPS — and power grids on Earth. When the Sun is most active, space weather events become more frequent. Solar activity, such as the storm in May 2024, has led to increased aurora visibility and impacts on satellites and infrastructure in recent months.Listen to the media telecon.Read NASA's article about the news. || ", "hits": 836 }, { "id": 5259, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5259/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2024-04-19T10:00:00-04:00", "title": "PACE - First Look at OCI, HARP2, and SPEXone data", "description": "This visualization begins with a view of the PACE spacecraft orbiting Earth. A swath of true color imagery is exposed as the spacecraft passes over each location. The camera then zooms into the southeastern coast of the US, revealing several data layers from the PACE science instruments, including chlorophyll, a phytoplankton community map (Picoeukaryotes, Prochlorococcus, and Synechococcus), and aerosols. || PACE_EarthDay2024.03800_print.jpg (1024x576) [142.8 KB] || PACE_EarthDay2024.03800_searchweb.png (320x180) [79.9 KB] || PACE_EarthDay2024.03800_thm.png (80x40) [6.1 KB] || PACE_EarthDay2024_1080p60.mp4 (1920x1080) [35.6 MB] || PACE_EarthDay2024 (3840x2160) [256.0 KB] || PACE_EarthDay2024_2160p60.mp4 (3840x2160) [119.8 MB] || ", "hits": 52 }, { "id": 14442, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14442/", "result_type": "Animation", "release_date": "2023-10-24T11:00:00-04:00", "title": "STAQS Air Quality Conceptual Illustrations", "description": "While poor air quality affects everyone, there are pollution hotspots that can adversely affect those nearest. For example, neighborhoods located near highways and warehouses can be hotspots of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and hazardous particles called PM2.5, which are more than 35 times smaller in diameter than a grain of sand.For other residents, such as those located downwind from major cities like Chicago and New York, ozone can be an issue. While ozone high in the atmosphere protects Earth from dangerous solar radiation, at the ground level it can cause respiratory diseases and drive smog. Ozone ‘brewed’ in cities can travel to rural communities.Ground-level ozone along with another hazardous pollutant – tiny particles called PM2.5 – lead to over 100,000 premature deaths each year in the U.S. || ", "hits": 23 }, { "id": 5173, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5173/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2023-10-10T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "Earth's Radiation Balance, 2000-2023", "description": "A plotted view of planetary heat uptake since the beginning of the CERES data record showing an oscillating, monthly mean (yellow) and twelve-month running average (red line). These data show how much energy is added (absorbed) by Earth during the CERES period. || planetary_heat_anomaly.1800_print.jpg (1024x576) [69.7 KB] || planetary_heat_anomaly.1800_searchweb.png (320x180) [21.2 KB] || planetary_heat_anomaly.1800_thm.png (80x40) [3.0 KB] || phu_2023 (3840x2160) [0 Item(s)] || planetary_heat_anomaly_2160p60.mp4 (3840x2160) [4.2 MB] || ", "hits": 317 }, { "id": 4917, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4917/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2021-11-29T11:00:00-05:00", "title": "ICON Snaps a Peek at the Ionospheric Dynamo", "description": "Visualization of ICON in Earth orbit, camera ahead of the spacecraft looking back on spacecraft and limb of Earth. Magenta curves are lines of Earth's geomagnetic field. Field-of-view (FOV) of MIGHTI imagers (green frustums) and the longitudinal wind vectors (green arrows) it measures are shown. MIGHTI imagers FOV eventually fades out. Vertical plasma speed (red arrows) is measured at the spacecraft. Magnetic field lines turn yellow as measurements of winds by MIGHT provide a connection to influence the plasma velocity measured at the spacecraft, redirecting the plasma flow from upward to downward. || ICONDataView.ICONSyncView+x_.clockSlate_CRTT.HD1080i.000750_print.jpg (1024x576) [135.0 KB] || ICONDataView.ICONSyncView+x_.clockSlate_CRTT.HD1080i.000750_searchweb.png (320x180) [79.4 KB] || ICONDataView.ICONSyncView+x_.clockSlate_CRTT.HD1080i.000750_thm.png (80x40) [5.7 KB] || ICONSyncView+x (1920x1080) [0 Item(s)] || ICONDataView.ICONSyncView+x.HD1080i_p30.mp4 (1920x1080) [36.4 MB] || ICONDataView.ICONSyncView+x.HD1080i_p30.webm (1920x1080) [5.1 MB] || ICONSyncView+x (3840x2160) [0 Item(s)] || ICONDataView.ICONSyncView+x.2160p30.mp4 (3840x2160) [114.3 MB] || ICONDataView.ICONSyncView+x.HD1080i_p30.mp4.hwshow || ", "hits": 52 }, { "id": 13874, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/13874/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2021-07-09T10:42:00-04:00", "title": "SPEXone: Dutch Instrument Arrives for PACE Mission", "description": "Aerosols are small solid or liquid particles suspended in the air that affect climate change directly throuhg interaction with solar radiation. Aerosols affect climate indirectly by changing the micro-and macro- physical properties of clouds. Scientists who study climate change rely on detailed data to properly characterize the the amount of radiative forcing that aerosols cause. SPEXone is a new instrument designed to pursue that data with superb accuracy. It's a polarimeter, intended to measure the intensity, Degree of Linear Polarization (DoLP) and Angle of Linear Polarization (AoLP) of sunlight reflected back from Earth's atmosphere, land surface, and ocean. Built by engineers at The Netherlands Institute for Space Research (SRON) and Airbus Defence and Space Netherlands (Airbus DS NL), SPEXone will fly on the PACE spacecraft as one of that mission's suite of sensors. || ", "hits": 31 }, { "id": 4935, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4935/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2021-04-16T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "CERES Radiation Balance", "description": "A plotted view of planetary heat uptake since the beginning of the CERES data record showing an oscillating, monthly mean (yellow) and twelve-month running average (red line). These data show how much energy is added (absorbed) by Earth during the CERES period. || CERES_2021_update_final.01650_print.jpg (1024x576) [69.5 KB] || CERES_2021_update_final.01650_searchweb.png (320x180) [23.5 KB] || CERES_2021_update_final.01650_thm.png (80x40) [3.3 KB] || CERES_2021_update_final.mp4 (1920x1080) [9.2 MB] || CERES_2021_update_final.webm (1920x1080) [6.2 MB] || CERES_2021_update_final.mp4.hwshow [194 bytes] || ", "hits": 127 }, { "id": 13714, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/13714/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2020-09-15T13:00:00-04:00", "title": "Solar Cycle 25 Is Here. NASA, NOAA Scientists Explain What This Means", "description": "Solar Cycle 25 has begun. The Solar Cycle 25 Prediction Panel announced solar minimum occurred in December 2019, marking the transition into a new solar cycle. In a press event, experts from the panel, NASA, and NOAA discussed the analysis and Solar Cycle 25 prediction, and how the rise to the next solar maximum and subsequent upswing in space weather will impact our lives and technology on Earth.A new solar cycle comes roughly every 11 years. Over the course of each cycle, the star transitions from relatively calm to active and stormy, and then quiet again; at its peak, the Sun’s magnetic poles flip. Now that the star has passed solar minimum, scientists expect the Sun will grow increasingly active in the months and years to come.Understanding the Sun’s behavior is an important part of life in our solar system. The Sun’s outbursts—including eruptions known as solar flares and coronal mass ejections—can disturb the satellites and communications signals traveling around Earth, or one day, Artemis astronauts exploring distant worlds. Scientists study the solar cycle so we can better predict solar activity.Click here for the NOAA press kit.Listen to the media telecon.Participants:• Lisa Upton, Co-chair, Solar Cycle 25 Prediction Panel; Solar Physicist, Space Systems Research Corporation• Doug Biesecker, Solar Physicist, NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center; Co-chair, Solar Cycle 25 Prediction Panel• Elsayed Talaat, Director, Office of Projects, Planning and Analysis; NOAA’s Satellite and Information Service • Lika Guhathakurta, Heliophysicist, Heliophysics Division, NASA Headquarters • Jake Bleacher, Chief Exploration Scientist, NASA Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate || ", "hits": 289 }, { "id": 4817, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4817/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2020-04-17T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "Earth Day 2020: CERES Net TOA Radiation", "description": "CERES Net TOA Radiation, WIth LabelsThis video is also available on our YouTube channel. || ceres_w_labels.00001_print.jpg (1024x576) [98.8 KB] || ceres_w_labels.00001_searchweb.png (320x180) [51.5 KB] || ceres_w_labels.00001_thm.png (80x40) [4.4 KB] || ceres_w_labels.webm (1920x1080) [6.9 MB] || ceres_w_labels.mp4 (1920x1080) [111.3 MB] || captions_silent.29564.en_US.srt [43 bytes] || ceres_w_labels.mp4.hwshow [180 bytes] || ", "hits": 53 }, { "id": 13557, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/13557/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2020-02-24T11:00:00-05:00", "title": "Placing the Recent Hiatus Period in an Energy Balance Perspective", "description": "GLOBAL OBSERVATIONS OF EARTH’S ENERGY BALANCE With the launch of NASA’s Terra Satellite Earth Observing System on Dec. 18, 1999, and subsequent ‘first light’ of the Cloud’s and the Earth’s Energy Radiant System (CERES) instrument on February 26, 2000, NASA gave birth to what ultimately would become the first long-term global observational record of Earth’s energy balance. This key indicator of the climate system describes the delicate and complex balance between how much of the sun’s energy reaching Earth is absorbed and how much thermal infrared radiation is emitted back to space. “Absorbed solar radiation fuels the climate system and life on our planet,” said Norman Loeb, CERES Principal Investigator. “The Earth sheds heat by emitting outgoing radiation.” || ", "hits": 253 }, { "id": 4794, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4794/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2020-02-21T08:00:00-05:00", "title": "CERES Radiation Balance", "description": "The Clouds and the Earth’s Energy Radiant System (CERES) instrument is a key component of NASA’s Earth Observing System, with six active CERES instruments on satellites orbiting Earth and taking data.  For Earth’s temperature to be stable over long periods of time, absorbed solar and emitted thermal radiation must be equal. Increases in greenhouse gases, like carbon dioxide and methane, trap emitted thermal radiation from the surface and reduce how much is lost to space, resulting in a net surplus of energy into the Earth system. Most of the extra energy ends up being stored as heat in the ocean and the remainder warms the atmosphere and land, and melts snow and ice. As a consequence, global mean surface temperature increases and sea levels rise. Much like a pulse or heartbeat, CERES monitors reflected solar and emitted thermal infrared radiation, which together with solar irradiance measurements is one of Earth’s ‘vital signs.’ Better understanding Earth’s energy balance enables us to be informed and adapt to a changing world. || ", "hits": 151 }, { "id": 4762, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4762/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2019-12-10T17:30:00-05:00", "title": "GOLD Instrument observes the July 2019 Total Solar Eclipse", "description": "Comparative visualizations of Earth in visible light and the ultraviolet emission of oxygen recombining from ions. The Appleton anomaly is faintly visible above and below the equator on the nightside of the Earth. This version presents the path of the solar eclipse but variations are available in the popup menu to the right. || GOLDEclipse201907.O5S+VIS_path_UHD3840.00192_print.jpg (1024x576) [68.5 KB] || GOLDEclipse201907.O5S+VIS_path_UHD3840.00192_searchweb.png (320x180) [59.6 KB] || GOLDEclipse201907.O5S+VIS_path_UHD3840.00192_thm.png (80x40) [5.4 KB] || GOLDEclipse201907.O5S+VIS_path_HD1080i_p5.webm (1920x1080) [4.7 MB] || Eclipse2019.O5S_VIS_path (1920x1080) [0 Item(s)] || GOLDEclipse201907.O5S+VIS_path_HD1080i_p5.mp4 (1920x1080) [19.8 MB] || Eclipse2019.O5S_VIS_nopath (1920x1080) [0 Item(s)] || GOLDEclipse201907.O5S+VIS_nopath_HD1080i_p5.mp4 (1920x1080) [20.0 MB] || Eclipse2019.O5S_VIS_nopath (3840x2160) [0 Item(s)] || GOLDEclipse201907.O5S+VIS_nopath_UHD3840_2160p5.mp4 (3840x2160) [64.3 MB] || Eclipse2019.O5S_VIS_path (3840x2160) [0 Item(s)] || GOLDEclipse201907.O5S+VIS_path_UHD3840_2160p5.mp4 (3840x2160) [63.4 MB] || ", "hits": 25 }, { "id": 13502, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/13502/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2019-12-10T17:00:00-05:00", "title": "AGU 2019 — Postcards from the edge of space: New images, new phenomena, and new insights", "description": "In a Dec. 10 press event at the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco, California, three scientists presented new images of the ionosphere, the dynamic region where Earth’s atmosphere meets space. Home to astronauts and everyday technology like radio and GPS, the ionosphere constantly responds to changes from space above and Earth below.The collection of images presented include the first images from NASA’s ICON, new science results from NASA’s GOLD, and observations of a fleeting, never-before-studied aurora. Together, they bring color to invisible processes that have widespread implications for the part of space that is closest to home.SPEAKERS:• Jennifer Briggs, Pepperdine University, Malibu, California, United States• Richard Eastes, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, United States• Thomas Immel, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, California, United States || ", "hits": 53 }, { "id": 4772, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4772/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2019-12-06T11:00:00-05:00", "title": "Earth Observing Fleet (December 2019)", "description": "NASA's Earth Observing Fleet (December 2019) || fleet201912_HD.6000_print.jpg (1024x576) [71.7 KB] || fleet201912_HD.6000_searchweb.png (320x180) [52.3 KB] || fleet201912_HD.6000_thm.png (80x40) [4.0 KB] || fleet201912_HD_1080p30.mp4 (1920x1080) [89.3 MB] || 1920x1080_16x9_30p (1920x1080) [0 Item(s)] || fleet201912_HD_1080p30.webm (1920x1080) [14.3 MB] || 3840x2160_16x9_30p (3840x2160) [0 Item(s)] || comp (9600x3240) [0 Item(s)] || stars_only (9600x3240) [0 Item(s)] || orbits_and_earth (9600x3240) [0 Item(s)] || fleet201912_4k_2160p30.mp4 (3840x2160) [299.6 MB] || fleet201912_HD_1080p30.mp4.hwshow [188 bytes] || ", "hits": 38 }, { "id": 31059, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/31059/", "result_type": "Hyperwall Visual", "release_date": "2019-11-13T00:00:00-05:00", "title": "CERES top of Atmosphere Fluxes", "description": "These maps show monthly top of atmosphere radiative fluxes from March 2000 to the present from the Energy Balanced and Filled (EBAF) data product. These data are produced by averaging observations collected by the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) sensors on NASA's Aqua and Terra satellites, filling in gaps and constraining the fluxes to remove the inconsistency between average global net TOA flux and heat storage in the Earth-atmosphere system. || ", "hits": 135 }, { "id": 13275, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/13275/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2019-08-07T11:30:00-04:00", "title": "How NASA Will Protect Astronauts From Space Radiation", "description": "Today, the Apollo-era flares serve as a reminder of the threat of radiation exposure for technology and astronauts in space. Understanding and predicting solar eruptions is crucial for safe space exploration. Almost 50 years since those 1972 storms, the data, technology and resources available to NASA have improved, enabling advancements towards space weather forecasts and astronaut protection — key to NASA’s Artemis program to return astronauts to the Moon.", "hits": 734 }, { "id": 13123, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/13123/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2018-12-31T14:00:00-05:00", "title": "Bennu Orbit Insertion", "description": "On December 31, 2018, OSIRIS-REx completed its Preliminary Survey of asteroid Bennu and entered into orbit. Complete transcript available.Music provided by Killer Tracks: Pose dans la tess (instrumental), Ties that BindWatch this video on the OSIRIS-REx mission YouTube channel. || OSIRIS-REx_Bennu_Insertion_Preview_print.jpg (1024x576) [72.3 KB] || OSIRIS-REx_Bennu_Insertion_Preview.png (3840x2160) [4.8 MB] || OSIRIS-REx_Bennu_Insertion_Preview_searchweb.png (320x180) [44.8 KB] || OSIRIS-REx_Bennu_Insertion_Preview_thm.png (80x40) [2.0 KB] || 13123_Bennu_Orbit_Insertion_MASTER.mov (3840x2160) [4.9 GB] || 13123_Bennu_Orbit_Insertion_MASTER.mp4 (3840x2160) [1.2 GB] || 13123_Bennu_Orbit_Insertion_MASTER_small.mp4 (3840x2160) [103.1 MB] || 13123_Bennu_Orbit_Insertion_MASTER.webm (3840x2160) [22.8 MB] || 13123_Bennu_Orbit_Insertion_MASTER_small_Output.en_US.srt [2.2 KB] || 13123_Bennu_Orbit_Insertion_MASTER_small_Output.en_US.vtt [2.2 KB] || ", "hits": 36 }, { "id": 4360, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4360/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2018-12-10T11:00:00-05:00", "title": "Heliophysics Sentinels 2018", "description": "This movie presents the trajectories of the heliophysics fleet from close to Earth to out beyond the heliopause. || Sentinels2018.Sentinels2Voyager.GSE.AU.clockSlate_EarthTarget.UHD3840.00000_print.jpg (1024x576) [74.5 KB] || Sentinels2018.Sentinels2Voyager.GSE.AU.clockSlate_EarthTarget.UHD3840.00000_searchweb.png (180x320) [65.6 KB] || Sentinels2018.Sentinels2Voyager.GSE.AU.clockSlate_EarthTarget.UHD3840.00000_thm.png (80x40) [5.1 KB] || Sentinels2018.Sentinels2Voyager_1080p30.mp4 (1920x1080) [40.3 MB] || Sentinels2018.Sentinels2Voyager_1080p30.webm (1920x1080) [6.3 MB] || 1920x1080_16x9_30p (1920x1080) [0 Item(s)] || 3840x2160_16x9_30p (3840x2160) [0 Item(s)] || Sentinels2018.Sentinels2Voyager_2160p30.mp4 (3840x2160) [125.7 MB] || Sentinels2018.Sentinels2Voyager_1080p30.mp4.hwshow || ", "hits": 45 }, { "id": 4698, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4698/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2018-12-09T00:00:00-05:00", "title": "Earth Observing Fleet (October 2018)", "description": "NASA's Earth Science Fleet as of October 2018 || fleet201810_hd01.07410_print.jpg (1024x576) [71.1 KB] || fleet201810_hd01.07410_searchweb.png (320x180) [64.9 KB] || fleet201810_hd01.07410_thm.png (80x40) [4.8 KB] || 1920x1080_16x9_60p (1920x1080) [0 Item(s)] || fleet201810_hd01.webm (1920x1080) [51.8 MB] || fleet201810_hd01.mp4 (1920x1080) [229.8 MB] || 9600x3240_16x9_30p (9600x3240) [0 Item(s)] || fleet201810_hd01.mp4.hwshow [182 bytes] || ", "hits": 31 }, { "id": 13105, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/13105/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2018-11-02T14:00:00-04:00", "title": "First Perihelion: Into the Unknown with Parker Solar Probe", "description": "Complete transcript available.Watch this video on the JHU/APL YouTube channel. || 1803932PSPRISKmixedfinalscreener.03961_print.jpg (1024x576) [97.7 KB] || 1803932PSPRISKmixedfinalscreener.03961_searchweb.png (320x180) [78.1 KB] || 1803932PSPRISKmixedfinalscreener.03961_thm.png (80x40) [5.7 KB] || 1803932PSPRISKmixedfinalscreener.mp4 (1280x720) [130.4 MB] || 1803932PSPRISKmixedfinalscreener.webm (1280x720) [23.0 MB] || FirstPerihelioncaptions.en_US.srt [3.5 KB] || FirstPerihelioncaptions.en_US.vtt [3.6 KB] || ", "hits": 241 }, { "id": 12902, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/12902/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2018-10-22T10:00:00-04:00", "title": "The Secrets behind Earth’s Multi-colored Glow", "description": "What does our planet look like from space? Most are familiar with the beloved images of the blue marble or pale blue dot — Earth from 18,000 and 3.7 billion miles away, respectively. But closer to home, within the nearest region of space, you might encounter an unfamiliar sight. If you peer down on Earth from just 300 miles above the surface, near the orbit of the International Space Station, you can see vibrant swaths of red and green or purple and yellow light emanating from the upper atmosphere. This is airglow. Airglow occurs when atoms and molecules in the upper atmosphere, excited by sunlight, emit light in order to shed their excess energy. Or, it can happen when atoms and molecules that have been ionized by sunlight collide with and capture a free electron. In both cases, they eject a particle of light — called a photon — in order to relax again. The phenomenon is similar to auroras, but where auroras are driven by high-energy particles originating from the solar wind, airglow is energized by day-to-day solar radiation. || ", "hits": 605 }, { "id": 40365, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/earth-science-oct2018-briefing/", "result_type": "Gallery", "release_date": "2018-10-18T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "Earth Science Overview Oct 2018 Briefing", "description": "No description available.", "hits": 89 }, { "id": 12947, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/12947/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2018-10-16T12:00:00-04:00", "title": "Launching an ICON", "description": "The Ionospheric Connection Explorer will explore the mysteries of where Earth meets space. || STORYCOVER_ICON_Image_Portrait16x9_1024x576.jpg (1024x576) [187.1 KB] || STORYCOVER_ICON_Image_Portrait16x9.jpg (2550x1434) [637.0 KB] || STORYCOVER_NEW_ICON_Image_Portrait.jpg (2550x3300) [707.1 KB] || STORYCOVER_ICON_Image_Portrait16x9_searchweb.png (320x180) [82.4 KB] || STORYCOVER_ICON_Image_Portrait16x9_thm.png (80x40) [5.7 KB] || ", "hits": 50 }, { "id": 4662, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4662/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2018-07-12T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "Earth Observing Fleet (June 2018)", "description": "NASA's Earth observing starting at L1 and moving in towards Earth || fleet201806_hd01.11200_print.jpg (576x1024) [92.4 KB] || fleet201806_hd01.11200_searchweb.png (320x180) [73.5 KB] || fleet201806_hd01.11200_thm.png (80x40) [5.5 KB] || 1920x1080_16x9_60p (1920x1080) [0 Item(s)] || fleet201806_hd01_1080p60.webm (1920x1080) [25.9 MB] || fleet201806_hd01_1080p60.mp4 (1920x1080) [141.1 MB] || fleet201806_hd01_1920x1080_p30.mp4 (1920x1080) [234.5 MB] || 9600x3240_16x9_30p (9600x3240) [0 Item(s)] || fleet201806_hd01_1920x1080_p30.mp4.hwshow [196 bytes] || ", "hits": 33 }, { "id": 12963, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/12963/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2018-06-02T15:00:00-04:00", "title": "Airglow Imagery", "description": "Airglow occurs when atoms and molecules in the upper atmosphere, excited by sunlight, emit light in order to shed their excess energy. The phenomenon is similar to auroras, but where auroras are driven by high-energy particles originating from the solar wind, airglow is sparked by day-to-day solar radiation. Airglow carries information on the upper atmosphere’s temperature, density, and composition, but it also helps us trace how particles move through the region itself. Vast, high-altitude winds sweep through the ionosphere, pushing its contents around the globe — and airglow’s subtle dance follows their lead, highlighting global patterns. || ", "hits": 1162 }, { "id": 12960, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/12960/", "result_type": "Infographic", "release_date": "2018-05-31T19:00:00-04:00", "title": "Ionosphere Graphics", "description": "Stretching from roughly 50 to 400 miles above Earth’s surface, the ionosphere is an electrified layer of the upper atmosphere, generated by extreme ultraviolet radiation from the Sun. It’s neither fully Earth nor space, and instead, reacts to both terrestrial weather below and solar energy streaming in from above, forming a complex space weather system of its own. The particles of the ionosphere carry electrical charge that can disrupt communications signals, cause satellites in low-Earth orbit to become electrically charged, and, in extreme cases, cause power outages on the ground. Positioned on the edge of space and intermingled with the neutral atmosphere, the ionosphere’s response to conditions on Earth and in space is difficult to pin down. || ", "hits": 452 }, { "id": 4600, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4600/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2018-01-31T00:00:00-05:00", "title": "Sixty Years of Earth Observations: from Explorer-1 (1958) to CYGNSS (2017)", "description": "Earth observing spacecraft from Explorer-1 to CYGNSSThis video is also available on our YouTube channel. || explorer1_68_1920x1080.09999_print.jpg (1024x576) [149.7 KB] || explorer1_68_1920x1080.09999_searchweb.png (320x180) [76.7 KB] || explorer1_68_1920x1080.09999_thm.png (80x40) [5.8 KB] || explorer1_68_1920x1080_p60.mp4 (1920x1080) [73.6 MB] || firsts (1920x1080) [0 Item(s)] || explorer1_68_1920x1080_p30.webm (1920x1080) [35.9 MB] || explorer1_68_1920x1080_p30.mp4 (1920x1080) [124.5 MB] || explorer1_68_1920x1080.1080p30.mp4 (1920x1080) [128.5 MB] || 9600x3240_16x9_30p (9600x3240) [0 Item(s)] || 3840x2160_16x9_60p (3840x2160) [0 Item(s)] || explorer1_68_3840x2160_p30.mp4 (3840x2160) [461.5 MB] || ", "hits": 135 }, { "id": 12792, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/12792/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2017-12-05T15:00:00-05:00", "title": "NASA's TSIS-1: Tracking Sun’s Power to Earth (Prelaunch Media Roll-Ins)", "description": "We live on a solar-powered planet. As we wake up in morning, the Sun peeks out over the horizon to shed light on us, blankets us with warmth, and provides cues to start our day. At the same time, the Sun’s energy drives our planet’s ocean currents, seasons, weather, and climate. Without the Sun, life on Earth would not exist. || ", "hits": 159 }, { "id": 30918, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/30918/", "result_type": "Hyperwall Visual", "release_date": "2017-12-04T00:00:00-05:00", "title": "Total Column Ozone from EP-TOMS and MERRA-2 GMI", "description": "Total Column Ozone from EP-TOMS and MERRA-2 GMIThe ozone layer is Earth’s protection from harmful ultraviolet radiation. NASA has a long history of measuring total column ozone using a variety of instruments, typically with polar orbiting satellites measuring backscattered solar radiation. This produces near global coverage over the course of a day over the sunlit portion of Earth. Some missing data occurs between swaths, over the polar region during winter, and during satellite outages. This animation shows the evolution of daily composites of total column ozone as observed with Earth Probe Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (EP-TOMS), on the right panel, from July 1, 2002 to Oct. 31, 2002. On the left panel is the total column ozone from the MERRA-2 GMI simulation, with hourly time resolution over the same time period. MERRA-2 GMI is a Goddard Earth Observing System version 5 (GEOS-5) “replay” simulation at 0.5° (~50km) horizontal resolution, driven by MERRA-2 reanalyzed winds, temperature, and pressure, coupled to the comprehensive Global Modeling Initiative (GMI) stratosphere-troposphere chemical mechanism. This animation shows the onset of the Antarctic ozone hole formation during austral winter of the dynamically active 2002 season and its breakdown during spring. In September 2002, the Antarctic polar vortex split into 2 lobes following the first and only observed major stratospheric warming in the Southern Hemisphere over our observational record. By combining NASA’s observations and chemistry simulations we have a clearer view of the evolution of Earth’s ozone layer over the recent past. || oman_toz_2002_pngs_1080.00001_print.jpg (1024x576) [117.1 KB] || oman_toz_2002_pngs_1080.00001_searchweb.png (320x180) [61.2 KB] || oman_toz_2002_pngs_1080.00001_web.png (320x180) [61.2 KB] || oman_toz_2002_pngs_1080.00001_thm.png (80x40) [6.0 KB] || oman_toz_2002_pngs_1080.webm (1920x1080) [10.5 MB] || oman_toz_2002_pngs_1080.mp4 (1920x1080) [187.7 MB] || ", "hits": 70 }, { "id": 4583, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4583/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2017-11-20T10:00:00-05:00", "title": "NASA's Near-Earth Science Mission Fleet: March 2017", "description": "NASA Near-Earth Science Fleet (August 2017) || near_earth_sciences02.6100_print.jpg (1024x576) [69.3 KB] || near_earth_sciences02.6100_searchweb.png (320x180) [44.2 KB] || near_earth_sciences02.6100_thm.png (80x40) [4.0 KB] || near_earth_sciences02_1080p60.mp4 (1920x1080) [51.2 MB] || 1920x1080_16x9_60p (1920x1080) [0 Item(s)] || near_earth_sciences02_1080p60.webm (1920x1080) [12.6 MB] || near_earth_sciences02_360p30.mp4 (640x360) [6.6 MB] || 9600x3240_16x9_30p (9600x3240) [0 Item(s)] || ", "hits": 41 }, { "id": 12769, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/12769/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2017-11-02T18:00:00-04:00", "title": "TSIS-1 Pre-launch Materials", "description": "Animation - NASA’s Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment, or SORCE, collected this data on total solar irradiance, the total amount of the Sun’s radiant energy, throughout Sept. 2017. While the Sun produced high levels of extreme ultraviolet light, SORCE actually detected a dip in total irradiance during the month’s intense solar activity. A possible explanation for this observation is that over the active regions — where solar flares originate — the darkening effect of sunspots is greater than the brightening effect of the flare’s extreme ultraviolet emissions. As a result, the total solar irradiance suddenly dropped during the flare events. Scientists gather long-term solar irradiance data in order to understand not only our dynamic star, but also its relationship to Earth’s environment and climate. NASA is ready to launch the Total Spectral solar Irradiance Sensor-1, or TSIS-1, this December to continue making total solar irradiance measurements. || LARGE_MP4-SORCE_TSI_large.00300_print.jpg (1024x576) [81.7 KB] || LARGE_MP4-SORCE_TSI_large.00300_searchweb.png (320x180) [48.6 KB] || LARGE_MP4-SORCE_TSI_large.00300_web.png (320x180) [48.6 KB] || LARGE_MP4-SORCE_TSI_large.00300_thm.png (80x40) [4.5 KB] || SORCE_TSI_Prores.mov (1920x1080) [183.3 MB] || PRORES_B-ROLL-SORCE_TSI_prores.mov (1280x720) [90.0 MB] || YOUTUBE_1080-SORCE_TSI_youtube_1080.mp4 (1920x1080) [26.4 MB] || APPLE_TV-SORCE_TSI_appletv.m4v (1280x720) [5.5 MB] || NASA_TV-SORCE_TSI.mpeg (1280x720) [39.8 MB] || LARGE_MP4-SORCE_TSI_large.mp4 (1920x1080) [12.3 MB] || LARGE_MP4-SORCE_TSI_large.webm (1920x1080) [995.7 KB] || NASA_PODCAST-SORCE_TSI_ipod_sm.mp4 (320x240) [4.6 MB] || ", "hits": 35 }, { "id": 4589, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4589/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2017-10-25T10:00:00-04:00", "title": "Heliophysics Sentinels 2017", "description": "This visualization starts from near Earth and the Earth orbiting satellite fleet out to the Moon, then past the Sun-Earth Lagrange point 1 to out beyond the heliopause. This is the long-play version. || Sentinels2017.Sentinels2Voyager.GSE.AU.clockSlate_EarthTarget.UHD3840.00000_print.jpg (1024x576) [136.1 KB] || Sentinels2017.Sentinels2Voyager.GSE.AU.clockSlate_EarthTarget.UHD3840.00000_searchweb.png (180x320) [84.6 KB] || Sentinels2017.Sentinels2Voyager.GSE.AU.clockSlate_EarthTarget.UHD3840.00000_thm.png (80x40) [6.0 KB] || Sentinels2017.Sentinels2Voyager.HD1080i_p30.webm (1920x1080) [12.4 MB] || SlowPlay (1920x1080) [0 Item(s)] || Sentinels2017.Sentinels2Voyager.HD1080i_p30.mp4 (1920x1080) [111.6 MB] || SlowPlay (3840x2160) [0 Item(s)] || Sentinels2017.Sentinels2Voyager_2160p30.mp4 (3840x2160) [336.2 MB] || Sentinels2017.Sentinels2Voyager.HD1080i_p30.mp4.hwshow [209 bytes] || ", "hits": 24 }, { "id": 11937, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11937/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2017-07-20T08:00:00-04:00", "title": "Earth's Energy Budget", "description": "Earth's energy budget is a metaphor for the delicate equilibrium between energy received from the Sun versus energy radiated back out in to space. Research into precise details of Earth's energy budget is vital for understanding how the planet's climate may be changing, as well as variabilities in solar energy output. NASA’s (The Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System) CERES and NASA's Total and Spectral solar Irradiance Sensor (TSIS-1), missions play key roles in our continued understanding of Earth’s Energy Budget.NASA’s TSIS helps scientists keep a close watch on the sun’s energy input to Earth. Various satellites have captured a continuous record of this solar energy input since 1978. TSIS-1 sensors advance previous measurements, enabling scientists to study the sun's natural influence on Earth's ozone layer, atmospheric circulation, clouds, and ecosystems. These observations are essential for a scientific understanding of the effects of solar variability on the Earth system. TSIS-1 makes two key measurements: total solar irradiance, or TSI, the sun's total energy input into Earth, and solar spectral irradiance (SSI), the distribution of the sun's energy input across ultraviolet, visible, and infrared wavelengths of light. TSI measurements are needed to quantify the solar variations in the total amount of energy input to the Earth. SSI measurements are also vital because different wavelengths of light are absorbed by different parts of the atmosphere.For more than 20 years, NASA Langley's CERES (System) instruments have measured the solar energy reflected by Earth, the heat the planet emits, and the role of clouds in that process. The final CERES Flight Model, CERES FM6 launched aboard NOAA’s JPSS-1 in Fall 2017. CERES FM6 contributes to an already extensive CERES dataset that helps scientists validate models that calculate the effect of clouds on planetary heating and cooling. The same data can also be helpful for improving near-term, seasonal forecasts influenced by weather events such as El Niño and La Niña. El Niño and La Niña are weather patterns that develop when ocean temperatures fluctuate between warm and cool phases in the Equatorial Pacific Ocean. Built by Northrop Grumman and managed by Langley, CERES FM6 joins five other CERES instruments orbiting the planet on three other satellites.NASA Goddard Space Flight Center manages the TSIS-1 project. The University of Colorado's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) built both instruments and provides mission operations. The International Space Station carries TSIS-1.Earth's energy budget is a metaphor for the delicate equilibrium between energy received from the Sun versus energy radiated back out in to space. Research into precise details of Earth's energy budget is vital for understanding how the planet's climate may be changing, as well as variabilities in solar energy output. NASA’s (The Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System) CERES and NASA's Total and Spectral solar Irradiance Sensor (TSIS-1), missions play key roles in our continued understanding of Earth’s Energy Budget.NASA’s TSIS helps scientists keep a close watch on the sun’s energy input to Earth. Various satellites have captured a continuous record of this solar energy input since 1978. TSIS-1 sensors advance previous measurements, enabling scientists to study the sun's natural influence on Earth's ozone layer, atmospheric circulation, clouds, and ecosystems. These observations are essential for a scientific understanding of the effects of solar variability on the Earth system. TSIS-1 makes two key measurements: total solar irradiance, or TSI, the sun's total energy input into Earth, and solar spectral irradiance (SSI), the distribution of the sun's energy input across ultraviolet, visible, and infrared wavelengths of light. TSI measurements are needed to quantify the solar variations in the total amount of energy input to the Earth. SSI measurements are also vital because different wavelengths of light are absorbed by different parts of the atmosphere.For more than 20 years, NASA Langley's CERES (System) instruments have measured the solar energy reflected by Earth, the heat the planet emits, and the role of clouds in that process. The final CERES Flight Model, CERES FM6 launched aboard NOAA’s JPSS-1 in Fall 2017. CERES FM6 contributes to an already extensive CERES dataset that helps scientists validate models that calculate the effect of clouds on planetary heating and cooling. The same data can also be helpful for improving near-term, seasonal forecasts influenced by weather events such as El Niño and La Niña. El Niño and La Niña are weather patterns that develop when ocean temperatures fluctuate between warm and cool phases in the Equatorial Pacific Ocean. Built by Northrop Grumman and managed by Langley, CERES FM6 joins five other CERES instruments orbiting the planet on three other satellites.NASA Goddard Space Flight Center manages the TSIS-1 project. The University of Colorado's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) built both instruments and provides mission operations. The International Space Station carries TSIS-1. || ", "hits": 158 }, { "id": 12646, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/12646/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2017-06-21T13:00:00-04:00", "title": "2017 Solar Eclipse Press Conference", "description": "For the first time in 99 years, a total solar eclipse will cross the entire nation Aug. 21. Representatives from NASA, other federal agencies, and science organizations, will provide important viewing safety, travel and science information during two briefings at the Newseum in Washington starting at 1 p.m. EDT Wednesday, June 21.The event will air live on NASA Television and stream on the agency’s website.Over the course of 100 minutes, 14 states across the United States will experience more than two minutes of darkness in the middle of the day. Additionally, a partial eclipse will be viewable across all of North America. The eclipse will provide a unique opportunity to study the sun, Earth, moon and their interaction because of the eclipse’s long path over land coast to coast. Scientists will be able to take ground-based and airborne observations over a period of an hour and a half to complement the wealth of data and images provided by space assets.The June 21 briefings are:Logistics Briefing: 1 to 2 p.m.Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate at the agency’s headquarters in WashingtonVanessa Griffin, director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Satellite and Product Operations in Suitland, MarylandBrian Carlstrom, deputy associate director of Natural Resource Stewardship and Science at the National Park Service in WashingtonMartin Knopp, associate administrator of the Office of Operations in the Federal Highway Administration at the U.S. Department of Transportation in WashingtonScience Briefing: 2:30 to 3:30 p.m.Thomas ZurbuchenAngela Des Jardins, principal investigator of the Eclipse Ballooning Project at Montana State University, BozemanAngela Speck, professor of astrophysics and director of astronomy at the University of Missouri, ColumbiaDave Boboltz, program director of solar physics in the Division of Astronomical Sciences at the National Science Foundation in Arlington, VirginiaLinda Shore, executive director of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific in San FranciscoMatt Penn, astronomer at the National Solar Observatory in Tucson, Arizona || ", "hits": 22 }, { "id": 30883, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/30883/", "result_type": "Hyperwall Visual", "release_date": "2017-06-07T12:00:00-04:00", "title": "Saturn's Hexagon as Summer Solstice Approaches", "description": "June 2013 vs. April 2017 || saturn_hex_color_1080p.00001_print.jpg (1024x576) [75.7 KB] || saturn_hex_color_1080p.00001_searchweb.png (320x180) [67.7 KB] || saturn_hex_color_1080p.00001_thm.png (80x40) [4.8 KB] || saturn_hex_color_1080p.mp4 (1920x1080) [5.4 MB] || saturn_hex_color_720p.mp4 (1280x720) [2.1 MB] || saturn_hex_color_1080p.webm (1920x1080) [1.1 MB] || saturn_hex_color_2304p.mp4 (4096x2304) [28.0 MB] || 4104x2304_16x9_30p (4104x2304) [32.0 KB] || ", "hits": 196 }, { "id": 4558, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4558/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2017-04-19T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "NASA's Earth Observing Fleet: March 2017", "description": "NASA's Earth observing fleet as of March 2017 || final_earth_obs_fleet06.2100_print.jpg (1024x576) [96.1 KB] || final_earth_obs_fleet06.2100_searchweb.png (320x180) [62.3 KB] || final_earth_obs_fleet06.2100_thm.png (80x40) [4.5 KB] || final_earth_obs_fleet06_1080p60.mp4 (1920x1080) [46.9 MB] || final_earth_obs_fleet06_1080p60.webm (1920x1080) [11.2 MB] || final (1920x1080) [0 Item(s)] || final_earth_obs_fleet06_360p30.mp4 (640x360) [6.0 MB] || final06 (9600x3240) [0 Item(s)] || ", "hits": 38 }, { "id": 12379, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/12379/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2016-09-28T10:00:00-04:00", "title": "Space Radiation Highlights", "description": "A collection of space radiation highlights featuring:NASA's Van Allen ProbesNASA's CubeSats || ", "hits": 126 }, { "id": 12335, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/12335/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2016-08-15T11:00:00-04:00", "title": "2016 Sea Ice Minimum Live Shots", "description": "Arctic Sea Ice Live Shot Roll-Ins || 12335_Sea_Ice_LS_Roll_Ins_Still.png (1275x716) [79.0 KB] || 12335_Sea_Ice_LS_Roll_Ins_Still_print.jpg (1024x575) [27.4 KB] || 12335_Sea_Ice_LS_Roll_Ins.webm (1280x720) [37.0 MB] || 12335_Sea_Ice_LS_Roll_Ins.mov (1280x720) [1.9 GB] || ", "hits": 55 }, { "id": 12281, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/12281/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2016-06-10T18:00:00-04:00", "title": "Instagram: Solar Storms May Have Been Key to Life on Earth", "description": "Our sun's adolescence was stormy—and new evidence shows that these tempests may have been just the key to seeding life as we know it.Some 4 billion years ago, the sun shone with only about three-quarters the brightness we see today, but its surface roiled with giant eruptions spewing enormous amounts of solar material and radiation out into space. These powerful solar explosions may have provided the crucial energy needed to warm Earth, despite the sun's faintness. The eruptions also may have furnished the energy needed to turn simple molecules into the complex molecules such as RNA and DNA that were necessary for life. The research was published in Nature Geoscience on May 23, 2016, by a team of scientists from NASA.Understanding what conditions were necessary for life on our planet helps us both trace the origins of life on Earth and guide the search for life on other planets. Until now, however, fully mapping Earth's evolution has been hindered by the simple fact that the young sun wasn't luminous enough to warm Earth.\"Back then, Earth received only about 70 percent of the energy from the sun than it does today,\" said Vladimir Airapetian, lead author of the paper and a solar scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. \"That means Earth should have been an icy ball. Instead, geological evidence says it was a warm globe with liquid water. We call this the Faint Young Sun Paradox. Our new research shows that solar storms could have been central to warming Earth.\" || ", "hits": 67 }, { "id": 12220, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/12220/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2016-04-21T11:00:00-04:00", "title": "Earth's Ionosphere", "description": "See why the night sky is never completely dark. || c-1024.jpg (1024x576) [81.4 KB] || c-1280.jpg (1280x720) [102.7 KB] || c-1920.jpg (1920x1080) [162.3 KB] || c-1024_print.jpg (1024x576) [90.5 KB] || c-1024_searchweb.png (320x180) [49.3 KB] || c-1024_web.png (320x180) [49.3 KB] || c-1024_thm.png (80x40) [4.6 KB] || ", "hits": 202 }, { "id": 4436, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4436/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2016-03-21T12:30:00-04:00", "title": "GMM-3 Mars Gravity Map", "description": "Scientists have used small fluctuations in the orbits of three NASA spacecraft to map the gravity field of Mars.Watch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.Complete transcript available.This video is also available on our YouTube channel. || MarsGravityMapYouTube.png (1920x1080) [7.9 MB] || MarsGravityMapYouTube.jpg (1920x1080) [706.6 KB] || APPLE_TV_G2016-003_Mars_Gravity_Map_MASTER_appletv.m4v (1280x720) [51.0 MB] || WEBM_G2016-003_Mars_Gravity_Map_MASTER.webm (960x540) [43.4 MB] || APPLE_TV_G2016-003_Mars_Gravity_Map_MASTER_appletv_appletv_subtitles.m4v (1280x720) [15.5 MB] || LARGE_MP4_G2016-003_Mars_Gravity_Map_MASTER_large.mp4 (1920x1080) [109.0 MB] || NASA_TV_G2016-003_Mars_Gravity_Map_MASTER.mpeg (1280x720) [362.0 MB] || G2016-003_Mars_Gravity_Map_MASTER_GoogOut.en_US.srt [1.8 KB] || G2016-003_Mars_Gravity_Map_MASTER_GoogOut.en_US.vtt [1.9 KB] || G2016-003_Mars_Gravity_Map_MASTER.mov (1920x1080) [2.9 GB] || ", "hits": 127 }, { "id": 4307, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4307/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2015-07-21T13:00:00-04:00", "title": "Impact of Snow Darkening on Boreal Spring Climate", "description": "Figure 1b: This image shows how the reduced albedo of the snow from dust, black carbon and organic carbon (the \"snow darkening effect\") alters difference in snow water equivalent through increased springtime melt. A colorbar reflects the quantities of the difference. || Figure_1_B_disk_20_medium_layers_with_Legend_print.jpg (1024x1075) [252.0 KB] || Figure_1_B_disk_20_medium_layers_with_Legend_searchweb.png (320x180) [5.9 MB] || Figure_1_B_disk_20_medium_layers_with_Legend_thm.png (80x40) [5.8 MB] || Figure_1_B_disk_20_medium_layers_with_Legend.tif (2000x2100) [11.2 MB] || Figure_1_B_disk_30_large_layers_with_Legend.tif (3000x3150) [24.5 MB] || Figure_1_B_disk_30_large_layers_with_Legend.psd (3000x3150) [30.5 MB] || Figure_1_B_disk_40_extra_large_layers_with_Legend.tif (4000x4200) [43.0 MB] || Figure_1_B_disk_40_extra_large_layers_with_Legend.psd (4000x4200) [53.6 MB] || ", "hits": 31 }, { "id": 11899, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11899/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2015-07-21T13:00:00-04:00", "title": "Scientists Link Earlier Melting Of Snow To Dark Aerosols", "description": "Tiny particles suspended in the air, known as aerosols, can darken snow and ice causing it to absorb more of the sun’s energy. But until recently, scientists rarely considered the effect of all three major types of light-absorbing aerosols together in climate models.In a new study, NASA scientists used a climate model to examine the impact of this snow-darkening phenomenon on Northern Hemisphere snowpacks, including how it affects snow amount and heating on the ground in spring.The study looked at three types of light-absorbing aerosols – dust, black carbon and organic carbon. Black carbon and organic carbon are produced from the burning of fossil fuels, like coal and oil, as well as biofuels and biomass, such as forests.With their snow darkening effect added to NASA’s GEOS-5 climate model, scientists analyzed results from 2002 to 2011, and compared them to model runs done without the aerosols on snow. They found that the aerosols indeed played a role in absorbing more of the sun’s energy. Over broad places in the Northern Hemisphere, the darkened snow caused some surface temperatures to be up to 10 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than it would be if the snow were pristine. As a result, warmer, snow-darkened areas had less snow in spring than they would have had under pristine snow conditions.According to the study, dust’s snow darkening effect significantly contributed to surface warming in Central Asia and the western Himalayas. Black carbon’s snow darkening effect had a larger impact primarily in Europe, the eastern Himalayas and East Asia. It had a smaller impact in North America. Organic carbon’s snow darkening effect was relatively lower but present in regions such as southeastern Siberia, northeastern East Asia and western Canada.“As we add more of these aerosols to the mix, we are potentially increasing our overall impact on Earth’s climate,” said research scientist Teppei Yasunari at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.Research: Impact of snow darkening via dust, black carbon, and organic carbon on boreal spring climate in the Earth systemJournal: Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, June 15, 2015.Link to paper: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2014JD022977/fullHere is the YouTube video. || ", "hits": 62 }, { "id": 30603, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/30603/", "result_type": "Hyperwall Visual", "release_date": "2015-06-25T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "CERES Cloud Radiative Effect", "description": "CERES Net Cloud Radiative Effect || ceres_net_cre_average_2000-2015_print.jpg (1024x574) [102.2 KB] || ceres_net_cre_average_2000-2015.png (4104x2304) [2.1 MB] || ceres_net_cre_average_2000-2015_searchweb.png (320x180) [69.4 KB] || ceres_net_cre_average_2000-2015_thm.png (80x40) [6.5 KB] || ceres_net_cre_average_2000-2015_30603.pptx [3.0 MB] || ceres_net_cre_average_2000-2015_30603.key [5.6 MB] || ", "hits": 170 }, { "id": 30584, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/30584/", "result_type": "Hyperwall Visual", "release_date": "2015-02-13T00:00:00-05:00", "title": "AXIOM-1 Ocean chlorophyll, Sea Ice Thickness and Atmospheric Precipitable Water", "description": "This animation shows ocean surface chlorophyll concentration, sea ice thickness, and atmospheric precipitable water. || 0001_print.jpg (1024x576) [236.0 KB] || 0001_searchweb.png (320x180) [121.0 KB] || 0001_web.png (320x180) [121.0 KB] || 0001_thm.png (80x40) [8.0 KB] || chl-1920x1080.webm (1920x1080) [15.9 MB] || axiom_chl_720p.mp4 (1280x720) [161.2 MB] || axiom_chl_h265_720p.mp4 (1280x720) [105.5 MB] || chl-1920x1080.mp4 (1920x1080) [889.5 MB] || chl (5760x3240) [128.0 KB] || axiom_chl_h265_2304p.mp4 (4096x2304) [913.8 MB] || chlorophyll_ice_thickness_precip_water_30584.key [896.4 MB] || chlorophyll_ice_thickness_precip_water_30584.pptx [893.1 MB] || axiom_chl_2304p.mp4 (4096x2304) [1.4 GB] || ", "hits": 27 }, { "id": 4272, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4272/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2015-02-09T00:00:00-05:00", "title": "What Would have Happened to the Ozone Layer if Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) had not been Regulated? (UPDATED)", "description": "World Avoided Ozone Full AnimationThis video is also available on our YouTube channel. || world_avoided_robinson.1830_print.jpg (1024x576) [70.0 KB] || world_avoided_robinson.1830_searchweb.png (180x320) [38.8 KB] || world_avoided_robinson.1830_thm.png (80x40) [4.7 KB] || full_movie (1920x1080) [0 Item(s)] || world_avoided_robinson_1080.mp4 (1920x1080) [26.3 MB] || world_avoided_robinson_1080.webm (1920x1080) [7.2 MB] || world_avoided_robinson_4272.pptx [27.2 MB] || world_avoided_robinson_4272.key [29.8 MB] || world_avoided_robinson_1080.mp4.hwshow || ", "hits": 107 }, { "id": 10281, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/10281/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2014-12-17T14:00:00-05:00", "title": "Instagram: Arctic Absorbing More Energy From The Sun", "description": "NASA satellite instruments have observed a marked increase in solar radiation absorbed in the Arctic since the year 2000—a trend that aligns with the steady decrease in Arctic sea ice during the same period. || ", "hits": 14 }, { "id": 4245, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4245/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2014-12-17T13:00:00-05:00", "title": "Link between Sea-Ice Fraction and Absorbed Solar Radiation over the Arctic Ocean", "description": "NASA satellite instruments have observed a marked increase in solar radiation absorbed in the Arctic since the year 2000 – a trend that aligns with the drastic decrease in Arctic sea ice during the same period. This visual shows the Arctic Sea Ice Change and the corresponding Absorbed Solar Radiation Change during June, July, and August from 2000 through 2014.This video is also available on our YouTube channel. || seaice_solarAbsorption_0344_print.jpg (1024x576) [117.1 KB] || SeaIceSolarAbsorptionChange.webm (1920x1080) [1.2 MB] || 1920x1080_16x9_60p (1920x1080) [0 Item(s)] || SeaIceSolarAbsorptionChange.mp4 (1920x1080) [12.1 MB] || composite (1920x1080) [0 Item(s)] || source (1920x1080) [0 Item(s)] || SeaIceSolarAbsorptionChange.m4v (640x360) [2.1 MB] || ", "hits": 50 }, { "id": 4205, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4205/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2014-09-24T09:00:00-04:00", "title": "Earth Science Heads-up Display", "description": "On September 10, 2014, NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS) was celebrated in an evening event at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC. The title of this event was \"Vital Signs: Taking the Pulse of Our Planet\", and the speakers at this event included several Earth Scientists from Goddard Space Flight Center. This animation was used in the beginning of the event to illustrate the interconnectedness of the many Earth-based data sets that NASA has produced over the last decade or so. The animation simulates a view of the Earth from the International Space Station, over which interconnected data sets are displayed as if on a head-up display. || ", "hits": 38 }, { "id": 11515, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11515/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2014-03-31T11:00:00-04:00", "title": "Arctic Melt Season Lengthening, Ocean Rapidly Warming", "description": "The length of the melt season for Arctic sea ice is growing by several days each decade, and an earlier start to the melt season is allowing the Arctic Ocean to absorb enough additional solar radiation in some places to melt as much as four feet of the Arctic ice cap’s thickness, according to a new study by National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) and NASA researchers. || ", "hits": 12 }, { "id": 30367, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/30367/", "result_type": "Hyperwall Visual", "release_date": "2013-10-24T12:00:00-04:00", "title": "Monthly Solar Insolation", "description": "These maps show Earth's average monthly solar insolation, or the rate of incoming sunlight reaching the surface, from July 2006 to the present as derived from Clouds and Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) measurements of radiant energy escaping the top of Earth's atmosphere. The CERES instrument flies onboard NASA’s Terra and Aqua satellites and makes these measurements every day on a global scale. The colors represent the kilowatt-hours of sunlight falling on every square meter of the surface per day, averaged over one month. Energy from the sun warms the surface, creating updrafts of air that carry warmth and moisture up into the atmosphere. Thus, knowing the rate of sunlight reaching the surface helps scientists understand weather and climate patterns. Exposure to sunlight is also a key limit to plant growth, particularly in tropical rainforests. Thus, insolation maps are also useful to scientists studying plant growth patterns in different parts of the world. || ", "hits": 251 }, { "id": 30370, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/30370/", "result_type": "Hyperwall Visual", "release_date": "2013-10-24T12:00:00-04:00", "title": "Monthly Reflected Shortwave Radiation", "description": "If you look at Mars in the night sky, the planet is little more than a glowing dot. From Mars, Earth would have the same star-like appearance. What gives the planets this light? Do they shine like a star? No. The light is mostly reflected sunlight. These images show how much sunlight Earth reflects. Bright parts of Earth like snow, ice, and clouds, reflect the most light; dark surfaces, like the oceans, reflect less light. Earth's average temperature is determined by the balance between how much sunlight Earth reflects, how much it absorbs, and how much heat it gives off. These maps show monthly reflected-shortwave radiation from July 2006 to the present, from the Fast Longwave And Shortwave Radiative Fluxes, or FLASHFlux, Time Interpolation and Spatial Averaging (TISA) data product. The product contains daily observations collected by the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) sensors on NASA's Aqua and Terra satellites. The colors in the map show the amount of shortwave energy (in Watts per square meter) that was reflected by the Earth system. The brighter, whiter regions show where more sunlight is reflected, while green regions show intermediate values, and blue regions are lower values. || ", "hits": 71 }, { "id": 11307, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11307/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2013-07-16T13:00:00-04:00", "title": "What is a Sungrazing Comet?", "description": "Sungrazing comets are a special class of comets that come very close to the sun at their nearest approach, a point called perihelion. To be considered a sungrazer, a comet needs to get within about 850,000 miles from the sun at perihelion. Many come even closer, even to within a few thousand miles. Being so close to the sun is very hard on comets for many reasons. They are subjected to a lot of solar radiation which boils off their water or other volatiles. The physical push of the radiation and the solar wind also helps form the tails. And as they get closer to the sun, the comets experience extremely strong tidal forces, or gravitational stress. In this hostile environment, many sungrazers do not survive their trip around the sun. Although they don't actually crash into the solar surface, the sun is able to destroy them anyway. Many sungrazing comets follow a similar orbit, called the Kreutz Path, and collectively belong to a population called the Kreutz Group. In fact, close to 85% of the sungrazers seen by the SOHO satellite are on this orbital highway. Scientists think one extremely large sungrazing comet broke up hundreds, or even thousands, of years ago, and the current comets on the Kreutz Path are the leftover fragments of it. As clumps of remnants make their way back around the sun, we experience a sharp increase in sungrazing comets, which appears to be going on now. Comet Lovejoy, which reached perihelion on December 15, 2011 is the best known recent Kreutz-group sungrazer. And so far, it is the only one that NASA's solar-observing fleet has seen survive its trip around the sun. Comet ISON, an upcoming sungrazer with a perihelion of 730,000 miles on November 28, 2013, is not on the Kreutz Path. In fact, ISON's orbit suggests that it may gain enough momentum to escape the solar system entirely, and never return. Before it does so, it will pass within about 40 million miles from Earth on December 26th. Assuming it survives its trip around the sun. || ", "hits": 215 }, { "id": 3925, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3925/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2012-07-22T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "NPP Ceres Shortwave Radiation", "description": "The CERES experiment is one of the highest priority scientific satellite instruments developed for NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS). The doors are open on NASA's Suomi NPP satellite and the newest version of the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) instrument is scanning Earth for the first time, helping to assure continued availability of measurements of the energy leaving the Earth-atmosphere system.CERES products include both solar-reflected and Earth-emitted radiation from the top of the atmosphere to the Earth's surface. Cloud properties are determined using simultaneous measurements by other EOS and NPP instruments such as the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and the Visible and Infrared Sounder (VIRS). Analyses using CERES data, build upon the foundation laid by previous missions such as NASA Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE), leading to a better understanding of the role of clouds and the energy cycle in global climate change. The sun's radiant energy is the fuel that drives Earth's climate engine. The Earth-atmosphere system constantly tries to maintain a balance between the energy that reaches the Earth from the sun and the energy that flows from Earth back out to space. Energy received from the sun is mostly in the visible (or shortwave) part of the electromagnetic spectrum. About 30% of the solar energy that comes to Earth is reflected back to space. The ratio of reflected-to-incoming energy is called \"albedo\" from the Latin word meaning whiteness. The solar radiation absorbed by the Earth causes the planet to heat up until it is radiating (or emitting) as much energy back into space as it absorbs from the sun. The Earth's thermal emitted radiation is mostly in the infrared (or longwave part of the spectrum. The balance between incoming and outgoing energy is called the Earth's radiation budget. This global view shows CERES top-of-atmosphere (TOA) shortwave radiation from Jan 26 and 27, 2012. Thick cloud cover tends to reflect a large amount of incoming solar energy back to space (blue/green/white image). For more information on the Clouds and Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) see http://ceres.larc.nasa.gov || ", "hits": 73 }, { "id": 3926, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3926/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2012-07-22T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "NPP Ceres Longwave Radiation", "description": "The CERES experiment is one of the highest priority scientific satellite instruments developed for NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS). The doors are open on NASA's Suomi NPP satellite and the newest version of the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) instrument is scanning Earth for the first time, helping to assure continued availability of measurements of the energy leaving the Earth-atmosphere system.CERES products include both solar-reflected and Earth-emitted radiation from the top of the atmosphere to the Earth's surface. Cloud properties are determined using simultaneous measurements by other EOS and NPP instruments such as the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and the Visible and Infrared Sounder (VIRS). Analyses using CERES data, build upon the foundation laid by previous missions such as NASA Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE), leading to a better understanding of the role of clouds and the energy cycle in global climate change.The sun's radiant energy is the fuel that drives Earth's climate engine. The Earth-atmosphere system constantly tries to maintain a balance between the energy that reaches the Earth from the sun and the energy that flows from Earth back out to space. Energy received from the sun is mostly in the visible (or shortwave) part of the electromagnetic spectrum. About 30% of the solar energy that comes to Earth is reflected back to space. The ratio of reflected-to-incoming energy is called \"albedo\" from the Latin word meaning whiteness. The solar radiation absorbed by the Earth causes the planet to heat up until it is radiating (or emitting) as much energy back into space as it absorbs from the sun. The Earth's thermal emitted radiation is mostly in the infrared (or longwave part of the spectrum. The balance between incoming and outgoing energy is called the Earth's radiation budget.This global view shows CERES top-of-atmosphere (TOA) longwave radiation from Jan 26 and 27, 2012. Heat energy radiated from Earth (in watts per square meter) is shown in shades of yellow, red, blue and white. The brightest-yellow areas are the hottest and are emitting the most energy out to space, while the dark blue areas and the bright white clouds are much colder, emitting the least energy. Increasing temperature, decreasing water vapor, and decreasing clouds will all tend to increase the ability of Earth to shed heat out to space.For more information on the Clouds and Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) see http://ceres.larc.nasa.gov || ", "hits": 79 }, { "id": 10984, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/10984/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2012-06-19T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "Shields Up!", "description": "Earth and the planets sit in the crosshairs of multiple streams of solar power. Giant explosions on the sun, called coronal mass ejections, blast electrically charged particles across the solar system, where they are deflected by Earth's strong magnetic field. As the sun endlessly emits solar radiation, a different kind of protective layer—Earth's gaseous atmosphere—shields the planet from harmful rays. But it is the radiation that penetrates the atmosphere and is absorbed by Earth's surface that makes life possible and drives a remarkable planetary engine—the climate. This narrated animation uses NASA satellite and model data to illustrate the fundamental power of the sun and how its energy drives the winds and ocean currents on Earth. It is an excerpt from \"Dynamic Earth: Exploring Earth's Climate Engine,\" a fulldome, high-resolution movie now playing at planetariums around the world. || ", "hits": 49 }, { "id": 10925, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/10925/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2012-03-07T15:00:00-05:00", "title": "HD Close up of March 6th X5.4 Flare", "description": "The sun erupted with one of the largest solar flares of this solar cycle on March 6, 2012 at 7PM ET. ?This flare was categorized as an X5.4, making it the second largest flare — after an X6.9 on August 9, 2011 — since the sun's activity segued into a period of relatively low activity called solar minimum in early 2007. The current increase in the number of X-class flares is part of the sun's normal 11-year solar cycle, during which activity on the sun ramps up to solar maximum, which is expected to peak in late 2013. About an hour later, at 8:14 PM ET, March 6, the same region let loose an X1.3 class flare. ?An X1 is 5 times smaller than an X5 flare. These X-class flares erupted from an active region named AR 1429 that rotated into view on March 2. ?Prior to this, the region had already produced numerous M-class and one X-class flare. ?The region continues to rotate across the front of the sun, so the March 6 flare was more Earthward facing than the previous ones. ?It triggered a temporary radio blackout on the sunlit side of Earth that interfered with radio navigation and short wave radio.In association with these flares, the sun also expelled two significant coronal mass ejections (CMEs), which are traveling faster than 600 miles a second and may arrive at Earth in the next few days. ?In the meantime, the CME associated with the X-class flare from March 4 has dumped solar particles and magnetic fields into Earth's atmosphere and distorted Earth's magnetic fields, causing a moderate geomagnetic storm, rated a G2 on a scale from G1 to G5. ?Such storms happen when the magnetic fields around Earth rapidly change strength and shape. ?A moderate storm usually causes aurora and may interfere with high frequency radio transmission near the poles. ?This storm is already dwindling, but the Earth may experience another enhancement if the most recent CMEs are directed toward and impact Earth. In addition, last night's flares have sent solar particles into Earth's atmosphere, producing a moderate solar energetic particle event, also called a solar radiation storm. These particles have been detected by NASA's SOHO and STEREO spacecraft, and NOAA's GOES spacecraft. ?At the time of writing, this storm is rated an S3 on a scale that goes up to S5. ?Such storms can interfere with high frequency radio communication. Besides the August 2011 X-class flare, the last time the sun sent out flares of this magnitude was in 2006. ?There was an X6.5 on December 6, 2006 and an X9.0 on December 5, 2006. Like the most recent events, those two flares erupted from the same region on the sun, which is a common occurrence. || ", "hits": 74 }, { "id": 10888, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/10888/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2012-02-21T00:00:00-05:00", "title": "Solar Fury", "description": "On January 22, 2012, the sun erupted with a solar flare, a coronal mass ejection, and a burst of highly energetic protons known as solar energetic particles. The solar flare was only medium in size. But the other two events packed quite a punch creating the most intense solar radiation storm since 2003. Within minutes of the eruption, solar particles swirled into the Earth's magnetosphere—the protective envelope that shields our planet from the sun's powerful rays. Dazzling auroras electrified the night sky as the coronal mass ejection raced behind the flare at almost 1,400 miles per second and hit Earth within 36 hours. For three days the storm degraded radio transmissions at high latitudes, forcing some airplanes flying polar routes—where pilots rely exclusively on radio navigation—to be rerouted. Watch the video below for multiple views of the eruption as captured by sun-observing satellites. || ", "hits": 57 }, { "id": 10899, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/10899/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2012-01-24T12:00:00-05:00", "title": "Biggest Solar Storm Since 2005", "description": "The sun erupted late on January 22, 2012 with an M8.7 class flare, an earth-directed coronal mass ejection (CME), and a burst of fast moving, highly energetic protons known as a \"solar energetic particle\" event. The latter has caused the strongest solar radiation storm since September 2005 according to NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center. || ", "hits": 66 }, { "id": 10850, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/10850/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2011-12-27T00:00:00-05:00", "title": "Let It Snow", "description": "Seasonal snow cover, the cold mantle that wraps up to 40 percent of the land surface in the Northern Hemisphere during winter, does more than cause rejoicing for those who dream of a White Christmas. Snow plays a key role in the Earth's energy balance, reflecting most of the sunlight that reaches its surface back to space, preventing warming of the ground beneath. Snow also absorbs energy from the atmosphere during spring melt, keeping temperatures moderate. Satellite measurements of snow extent began in the 1960s, and this lengthy record shows a 10 percent decline in annual snow cover since 1966, mainly due to earlier spring melting. Darker, snow-free ground absorbs more solar radiation and emits more warmth to the atmosphere. The snow cover loss is also a concern for those who depend on snowmelt for drinking water. Watch the visualizations below, based on data from NASA's MODIS instrument, to see the dramatic variation in a year of Earth's snow cover. In the Northern Hemisphere, the first flakes fall in mid-September over Siberia and Alaska. By the end of February, snow cover starts its retreat northward. Antarctica is home to most of the Southern Hemisphere's snow, except for some white-capped peaks and seasonal mountain snowfall in South America and Africa. || ", "hits": 78 }, { "id": 10754, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/10754/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2011-11-10T00:00:00-05:00", "title": "The Truth About 2012: Solar Storms", "description": "Should we be concerned about solar storms in 2012? Heliophysicist Alex Young from NASA Goddard Space Flight Center sorts out truth from fiction. || ", "hits": 59 }, { "id": 10109, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/10109/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2011-08-09T10:00:00-04:00", "title": "X-Class: A Guide to Solar Flares", "description": "Flares happen when the powerful magnetic fields in and around the sun reconnect. They're usually associated with active regions, often seen as sun spots, where the magnetic fields are strongest. Flares are classified according to their strength. The smallest ones are B-class, followed by C, M and X, the largest. Similar to the Richter scale for earthquakes, each letter represents a ten-fold increase in energy output. So an X is 10 times an M and 100 times a C. Within each letter class, there is a finer scale from 1 to 9. C-class flares are too weak to noticeably affect Earth. M-class flares can cause brief radio blackouts at the poles and minor radiation storms that might endanger astronauts. Although X is the last letter, there are flares more than 10 times the power of an X1, so X-class flares can go higher than 9. The most powerful flare on record was in 2003, during the last solar maximum. It was so powerful that it overloaded the sensors measuring it. They cut-out at X17, and the flare was later estimated to be about X45. A powerful X-class flare like that can create long lasting radiation storms, which can harm satellites and even give airline passengers, flying near the poles, small radiation doses. X flares also have the potential to create global transmission problems and world-wide blackouts. || ", "hits": 2138 }, { "id": 10722, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/10722/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2011-02-07T12:00:00-05:00", "title": "IBEX Spacecraft Finds Discoveries Close to Home", "description": "IBEX found that Energetic Neutral Atoms, or ENAs, are coming from a region just outside Earth's magnetopause where nearly stationary protons from the solar wind interact with the tenuous cloud of hydrogen atoms in Earth's exosphere. || ", "hits": 29 }, { "id": 40046, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/nasas-heliophysics-gallery/", "result_type": "Gallery", "release_date": "2010-03-04T00:00:00-05:00", "title": "NASA's Heliophysics Gallery", "description": "Heliophysics studies the nature of the Sun and how it influences the very nature of space and the planets and the technology that exists there. Learn more at nasa.gov/sun.", "hits": 313 }, { "id": 40060, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/solar-influence/", "result_type": "Gallery", "release_date": "2010-03-04T00:00:00-05:00", "title": "Solar Influence", "description": "No description available.", "hits": 15 }, { "id": 3586, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3586/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2009-03-17T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "What Would have Happened to the Ozone Layer if Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) had not been Regulated?", "description": "Led by NASA Goddard scientist Paul Newman, a team of atmospheric chemists simulated 'what might have been' if chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and similar ozone-depleting chemicals were not banned through the Montreal Protocol. The comprehensive model — including atmospheric chemical effects, wind changes, and solar radiation changes — simulated what would happen to global concentrations of stratospheric ozone if CFCs were continually added to the atmosphere.The visualizations below present two cases, from several different viewing positions: the 'world avoided' case, where the rate of CFC emission into the atmosphere is assumed to be that of the period before regulation, and the 'projected' case, which assumes the current rate of emission, post-regulation. Both cases extrapolate to the year 2065. || ", "hits": 87 }, { "id": 10382, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/10382/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2009-02-19T00:00:00-05:00", "title": "Glory Solar Array Deployment", "description": "The Glory spacecraft uses Orbital Sciences Corporation Space Systems Group's LEOStar-1 bus design, with deployable, four-panel solar arrays. This conceptual animation reveals Glory's unique solar array deployment sequence. || ", "hits": 36 }, { "id": 10384, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/10384/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2009-02-19T00:00:00-05:00", "title": "Glory's Total Irradiance Monitor (TIM)", "description": "The Total Irradiance Monitor (TIM) is an electrical substitution radiometer (ESR) that measures total solar irradiance (TSI) with extreme accuracy and precision. It has four identical radiometers to provide redundancy and to detect changes in the instrument performance due to exposure to solar radiation. As illustrated by this animation, the TIM is mounted on a two-axis, gimbaled platform that tracks the Sun independent of spacecraft orientation. The Glory TIM will continue the TSI measurements currently being acquired by the TIM instrument on the NASA SORCE satellite, in orbit since 2003. || ", "hits": 27 }, { "id": 10389, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/10389/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2009-02-19T00:00:00-05:00", "title": "Aerosols Absorb; Aerosols Reflect", "description": "Some aerosol particles primarily reflect solar radiation and cool the atmosphere, and others can also absorb radiation and warm the surrounding air. When aerosols heat the atmosphere, they create an unstable environment where clouds can't thrive. The suppression of clouds leads to further warming of the atmosphere by solar radiation. Aerosols are a complex but critical piece of the climate puzzle, and researchers are still working to understand the role of these curious particles. || ", "hits": 169 }, { "id": 10395, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/10395/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2009-02-19T00:00:00-05:00", "title": "Earth's Energy Budget Animations: Global View and Budget Breakout", "description": "Total solar irradiance (TSI) is the dominant driver of the Earth's climate. The global temperature of the Earth is almost completely determined by the balance between the intensity of the incident solar radiation and the response of the Earth's atmosphere via absorption, reflection, and re-radiation. Roughly 30 percent of the TSI that strikes the Earth is reflected back into space by clouds, atmospheric aerosols, snow, ice, desert sand, rooftops, and even ocean surf. The remaining 70 percent of the TSI is absorbed by the land, ocean, and atmosphere. In addition, different layers of the Earth's atmosphere absorb different wavelengths of light. Changes in either the TSI or in the composition of the atmosphere can cause climate change. Two conceptual science animations provide two different perspectives that both illustrate Earth's energy budget. || ", "hits": 88 }, { "id": 3535, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3535/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2008-08-15T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "Halloween Storms 2003: SOHO/EIT and TRACE at 195 Angstroms", "description": "This visualization compares the full-disk solar view of SOHO/EIT (green, on the left) with the small field of view of the TRACE ultraviolet telescope (gold, on the right). The yellow border of the TRACE imagery is projected on the appropriate location on the green EIT imagery. Notice that TRACE can track features as they move across the solar disk. The instrument pointing is adjusted on a regular basis, which can produce a considerable amount of jittering in the image. This is a variation on the treatment of the same data as Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO): Data Collection Comparison.Note that this movie does not play synchronous with the other animations that are part of the SDO Prelaunch package. || ", "hits": 19 }, { "id": 10198, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/10198/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2008-05-07T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "Striking a Solar Balance", "description": "This short film explores the vital connection between the Earth and the Sun. NASA's Glory mission and the Total Irradiance Monitor will continue nearly three decades of solar irradiance measurments. This crucial data will contribute to the long-term climate record.For complete transcript, click here. || Striking_a_Solar_Balance_640x48001227_print.jpg (1024x768) [110.2 KB] || Striking_a_Solar_Balance_640x480_web.png (320x240) [213.2 KB] || Striking_a_Solar_Balance_640x480_thm.png (80x40) [13.1 KB] || Striking_a_Solar_Balance_640x480_searchweb.png (320x180) [84.5 KB] || Striking_a_Solar_Balance_720x486_ProRes.webmhd.webm (960x540) [44.9 MB] || Striking_a_Solar_Balance_640x480.mpg (640x480) [118.9 MB] || Striking_a_Solar_Balance_720x486_ProRes.mov (720x486) [972.5 MB] || Striking_a_Solar_Balance_640x480_H264.mov (720x486) [171.0 MB] || Striking_a_Solar_Balance_640x480.m4v (640x480) [39.9 MB] || Striking_a_Solar_Balance_320x240.mp4 (320x240) [17.5 MB] || Striking_a_Solar_Balance.wmv (346x260) [30.4 MB] || ", "hits": 325 }, { "id": 3355, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3355/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2006-05-20T23:55:00-04:00", "title": "A Short Tour of the Cryosphere", "description": "A newer version of this animation is available here.This narrated, 5-minute animation shows a wealth of data collected from satellite observations of the cryosphere and the impact that recent cryospheric changes are making on our planet. This is a shorter version of a narrated, 7 1/2 minute animation entitled 'A Tour of the Cryosphere'.See the above link for a detailed description of the full animation.Two sections have been removed from the original animation: one showing a flyby of the South Pole station and glaciers feeding the Ross Ice Shelf and one showing solar data related to the Earth's energy balance.For more information on the data sets used in this visualization, visit NASA's EOS DAAC website. || ", "hits": 25 }, { "id": 3181, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3181/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2005-12-04T23:55:00-05:00", "title": "A Tour of the Cryosphere", "description": "A new HD version of this animation is available here.Click here to go to the media download section.The cryosphere consists of those parts of the Earth's surface where water is found in solid form, including areas of snow, sea ice, glaciers, permafrost, ice sheets, and icebergs. In these regions, surface temperatures remain below freezing for a portion of each year. Since ice and snow exist relatively close to their melting point, they frequently change from solid to liquid and back again due to fluctuations in surface temperature. Although direct measurements of the cryosphere can be difficult to obtain due to the remote locations of many of these areas, using satellite observations scientists monitor changes in the global and regional climate by observing how regions of the Earth's cryosphere shrink and expand.This animation portrays fluctuations in the cryosphere through observations collected from a variety of satellite-based sensors. The animation begins in Antarctica, showing ice thickness ranging from 2.7 to 4.8 kilometers thick along with swaths of polar stratospheric clouds. In a tour of this frozen continent, the animation shows some unique features of the Antarctic landscape found nowhere else on earth. Ice shelves, ice streams, glaciers, and the formation of massive icebergs can be seen. A time series shows the movement of iceberg B15A, an iceberg 295 kilometers in length which broke off of the Ross Ice Shelf in 2000. Moving farther along the coastline, a time series of the Larsen ice shelf shows the collapse of over 3,200 square kilometers ice since January 2002. As we depart from the Antarctic, we see the seasonal change of sea ice and how it nearly doubles the size of the continent during the winter.From Antarctica, the animation travels over South America showing areas of permafrost over this mostly tropical continent. We then move further north to observe daily changes in snow cover over the North American continent. The clouds show winter storms moving across the United States and Canada, leaving trails of snow cover behind. In a close-up view of the western US, we compare the difference in land cover between two years: 2003 when the region received a normal amount of snow and 2002 when little snow was accumulated. The difference in the surrounding vegetation due to the lack of spring melt water from the mountain snow pack is evident.As the animation moves from the western US to the Arctic region, the areas effected by permafrost are visible. In December, we see how the incoming solar radiation primarily heats the Southern Hemisphere. As time marches forward from December to June, the daily snow and sea ice recede as the incoming solar radiation moves northward to warm the Northern Hemisphere.Using satellite swaths that wrap the globe, the animation shows three types of instantaneous measurements of solar radiation observed on June 20, 2003: shortwave (reflected) radiation, longwave (thermal) radiation and net flux (showing areas of heating and cooling). Correlation between reflected radiation and clouds are evident. When the animation fades to show the monthly global average net flux, we see that the polar regions serve to cool the global climate by radiating solar energy back into space throughout the year.The animation shows a one-year cycle of the monthly average Arctic sea ice concentration followed by the mean September minimum sea ice for each year from 1979 through 2004. A red outline indicates the mean sea ice extent for September over 22 years, from 1979 to 2002. The minimum Arctic sea ice animation clearly shows how over the last 5 years the quantity of polar ice has decreased by 10 - 14% from the 22 year average.While moving from the Arctic to Greenland, the animation shows the constant motion of the Arctic polar ice using daily measures of sea ice activity. Sea ice flows from the Arctic into Baffin Bay as the seasonal ice expands southward. As we draw close to the Greenland coast, the animation shows the recent changes in the Jakobshavn glacier. Although Jakobshavn receded only slightly from 1042 to 2001, the animation shows significant recession over the past three years, from 2002 through 2004.This animation shows a wealth of data collected from satellite observations of the cryosphere and the impact that recent cryospheric changes are making on our planet.For more information on the data sets used in this visualization, visit NASA's EOS DAAC website. || ", "hits": 104 }, { "id": 3180, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3180/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2005-07-31T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "MODIS Daily Global Snow Cover and Sea Ice Surface Temperature as seen in the SIGGRAPH 2005 Electronic Theater", "description": "This animation showing snow cover and sea ice surface temperature in the Northern Hemisphere portrays data collected from daily MODIS satellite images acquired during the winter of 2002-2003. Darkness increases with the onset of autumn, reaching a maximum at the Winter Solstice on December 21st. Thereafter, the circle of darkness shrinks as the period of daylight increases. Daily changes in sea ice are shown as ice surface temperature, which is related to the air temperature and the concentration of the sea ice. Sea ice surface temperatures range from about -40 to -2 degrees Celsius. Here, ice surface temperatures are depicted by colors, described by a color bar shown below. The snow tracks of several winter storms across the United States can be clearly seen. With an albedo of up to 80 percent or more, snow-covered terrain reflects most of the incoming solar radiation back into space, cooling the lower atmosphere. When snow cover melts, the albedo drops suddenly to less than about 30 percent, allowing the ground to absorb more solar radiation, heating the Earth's surface and lower atmosphere. Rapid changes in albedo, resultingfrom snowfall and snow melt, cause significant changes in the regional energy balance. This animation was accepted into the prestigious 2005 SIGGRAPH Electronic Theater, where it was shown during the annual conference from July 31 through August 4, 2005 in Los Angeles, CA. For more information on the data sets used in this visualization, visit NASA's EOS DAAC website. || ", "hits": 21 }, { "id": 3175, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3175/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2005-06-21T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "Outgoing Shortwave Flux Compared to Clouds (WMS)", "description": "The Earth's climate is determined by energy transfer from the sun to the Earth's land, oceans, and atmosphere. As the Earth rotates, the sun lights up only part of the Earth at a time, and some of that incoming solar energy is reflected and some is absorbed, depending on type of area it lights. The amount of reflection and absorption is critical to the climate. An instrument named CERES orbits the Earth every 99 minutes and measures the reflected solar energy. This animation shows the reflected solar radiation measured by CERES during 29 orbits on June 20 and 21 of 2003 over infrared cloud images for the same period. Reflected solar radiation is shortwave radiation, and the most intense reflection comes from clouds. || ", "hits": 24 }, { "id": 3177, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3177/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2005-06-21T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "Net Radiation Flux Compared to Clouds (WMS)", "description": "The Earth's climate is determined by energy transfer from the sun to the Earth's land, oceans, and atmosphere. As the Earth rotates, the sun lights up only part of the Earth at a time, and some of that incoming solar energy is reflected and some is absorbed, depending on type of area it lights. The amount of reflection and absorption is critical to the climate. An instrument named CERES orbits the Earth every 99 minutes and measures the reflected solar energy. This animation shows the net radiation flux within view of CERES during 29 orbits on June 20 and 21 of 2003. The net flux is the incoming solar flux minus the outgoing reflected (shortwave) and thermal (longwave) radiation. If the flux in a region is positive, the Earth is being warmed by the sun in that region, while cooling regions have a negative flux. It is clear from the animation that the most intensive heating occurs in ocean regions with few clouds, while the second most intense are cloud-free regions over vegetated land areas. Deserts, cloudy regions, and ice caps all reflect enough solar radiation to reduce the amount of heating. Regions of night are, of course, cooling regions because there is no incoming flux at all. || ", "hits": 62 }, { "id": 3178, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3178/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2005-06-21T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "Incoming Solar Flux Compared to Clouds (WMS)", "description": "The Earth's climate is determined by energy transfer from the sun to the Earth's land, oceans, and atmosphere. As the Earth rotates, the sun lights up only part of the Earth at a time, and some of that incoming solar energy is reflected and some is absorbed, depending on type of area it lights. The amount of reflection and absorption is critical to the climate. An instrument named CERES orbits the Earth every 99 minutes and measures the reflected solar energy. This animation shows the incoming solar radiation within view of CERES during 29 orbits on June 20 and 21 of 2003. Because this is incoming solar flux, its magnitude only depends on the position of the sun, and, because the orbit is synchronized with the sun, the orbit crosses the equator in the daylight at about 1:30 PM local time on every orbit. This data is not actually measured from CERES, but is calculated to compare with the outgoing radiation that CERES does measure. Note that the infrared cloud image shown under the solar data shows high infrared as dark (land) and low infrared as light (clouds). || ", "hits": 35 }, { "id": 3179, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3179/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2005-06-21T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "Scene Identification Compared to Clouds (WMS)", "description": "The Earth's climate is determined by energy transfer from the sun to the Earth's land, oceans, and atmosphere. As the Earth rotates, the sun lights up only part of the Earth at a time, and some of that incoming solar energy is reflected and some is absorbed, depending on type of area it lights. The amount of reflection and absorption is critical to the climate. An instrument named CERES orbits the Earth every 99 minutes and measures the reflected solar energy. This animation shows the scene identification as measured by CERES during 29 orbits on June 20 and 21 of 2003. By comparing the incoming solar radiation with the outgoing reflected and thermal radiation, it is possible to identify the type of area being viewed, whether it be land, clouds, ocean, or ice. This scene identification is used together with the radiation flux measurements to build up a complete picture of the Earth's energy budget over time. || ", "hits": 10 }, { "id": 3126, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3126/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2005-03-08T12:00:00-05:00", "title": "Daily Erythemal Index (UV exposure) for 2000-2001 (WMS)", "description": "The Erythemal Index is a measure of ultraviolet (UV) radiation at ground level on the Earth. (The word 'erythema' means an abnormal redness of the skin, such as is caused by spending too much time in the sun—a sunburn is damage to your skin cells caused by UV radiation.) Atmospheric ozone shields life at the surface from most of the harmful components of solar radiation. Chemical processes in the atmosphere can affect the level of protection provided by the ozone in the upper atmosphere. This thinning of the atmospheric ozone in the stratosphere leads to elevated levels of UV at ground level and increases the risks of DNA damage in living organisms. || ", "hits": 17 }, { "id": 3114, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3114/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2005-03-07T12:00:00-05:00", "title": "Daily Erythemal Index (UV exposure) Measurements for 2000-2001 (WMS)", "description": "The Erythemal Index is a measure of ultraviolet (UV) radiation at ground level on the Earth. (The word 'erythema' means an abnormal redness of the skin, such as is caused by spending too much time in the sun—a sunburn is damage to your skin cells caused by UV radiation.) Atmospheric ozone shields life at the surface from most of the harmful components of solar radiation. Chemical processes in the atmosphere can affect the level of protection provided by the ozone in the upper atmosphere. This thinning of the atmospheric ozone in the stratosphere leads to elevated levels of UV at ground level and increases the risks of DNA damage in living organisms. || ", "hits": 36 }, { "id": 3124, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3124/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2005-03-07T12:00:00-05:00", "title": "Monthly Average Erythemal Index (UV exposure) for 2000-2001 (WMS)", "description": "The Erythemal Index is a measure of ultraviolet (UV) radiation at ground level on the Earth. (The word 'erythema' means an abnormal redness of the skin, such as is caused by spending too much time in the sun—a sunburn is damage to your skin cells caused by UV radiation.) Atmospheric ozone shields life at the surface from most of the harmful components of solar radiation. Chemical processes in the atmosphere can affect the level of protection provided by the ozone in the upper atmosphere. This thinning of the atmospheric ozone in the stratosphere leads to elevated levels of UV at ground level and increases the risks of DNA damage in living organisms. || ", "hits": 12 }, { "id": 3089, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3089/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2005-02-01T12:00:00-05:00", "title": "Average Clear-sky Albedo (WMS)", "description": "The Earth's climate is determined by energy transfer from the sun to the Earth's land, oceans, and atmosphere. As the Earth rotates, the sun lights up only part of the Earth at a time, and some of that incoming solar energy is reflected and some is absorbed, depending on type of area it lights. The average amount of reflection and absorption is critical to the climate, because the absorbed energy heats up the Earth until it is radiated away as thermal radiation. This animation shows the monthly average clear-sky albedo from July, 2002 through June, 2004 as measured by the CERES instrument. This is the fraction of the incoming solar radiation that is reflected back into space by regions of the Earth on cloud-free days. The regions of highest albedo are regions of snow and ice, followed by desert regions. Oceans have the lowest albedo, and reflect very little of the incoming solar radiation. It is not possible to measure the albedo during the winter months at the poles, since there is no incoming solar radiation during these times. || ", "hits": 47 }, { "id": 3090, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3090/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2005-02-01T12:00:00-05:00", "title": "Average Total-sky Albedo (WMS)", "description": "The Earth's climate is determined by energy transfer from the sun to the Earth's land, oceans, and atmosphere. As the Earth rotates, the sun lights up only part of the Earth at a time, and some of that incoming solar energy is reflected and some is absorbed, depending on type of area it lights. The average amount of reflection and absorption is critical to the climate, because the absorbed energy heats up the Earth until it is radiated away as thermal radiation. This animation shows the monthly average albedo from July, 2002 through June, 2004 as measured by the CERES instrument. This is the fraction of the incoming solar radiation that is reflected back into space by regions of the Earth. The regions of highest albedo are regions of snow and ice, followed by desert regions and regions where there is significant cloud cover during the year. Oceans have the lowest albedo. It is not possible to measure the albedo during the winter months at the poles, since there is no incoming solar radiation during these times. || ", "hits": 52 }, { "id": 3095, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3095/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2005-02-01T12:00:00-05:00", "title": "Average Total-sky Incoming Solar Flux (WMS)", "description": "The Earth's climate is determined by energy transfer from the sun to the Earth's land, oceans, and atmosphere. As the Earth rotates, the sun lights up only part of the Earth at a time, and some of that incoming solar energy is reflected and some is absorbed, depending on type of area it lights. The average amount of reflection and absorption is critical to the climate, because the absorbed energy heats up the Earth until it is radiated away as thermal radiation. This animation shows the monthly average incoming solar radiation from July, 2002 through June, 2004 as measured by the CERES instrument. This average data set is constant in longitude because of the Earth's rotation, but clearly shows the seasonal cycle as the sun heats the Northern Hemisphere more in summer than in winter. Note that the polar regions are abnormally bright in the local summer and dark in the local winter because whole day is either light or dark in those seasons. || ", "hits": 29 }, { "id": 3104, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3104/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2005-02-01T12:00:00-05:00", "title": "Instantaneous Scene Identification (WMS)", "description": "The Earth's climate is determined by energy transfer from the sun to the Earth's land, oceans, and atmosphere. As the Earth rotates, the sun lights up only part of the Earth at a time, and some of that incoming solar energy is reflected and some is absorbed, depending on type of area it lights. The amount of reflection and absorption is critical to th e climate. An instrument named CERES orbits the Earth every 99 minutes and measures the reflected solar energy. This animation shows the scene identification as measured by CERES during 29 orbits on June 20 and 21 of 2003. By comparing the incoming solar radiation with the outgoing reflected and thermal radiation, it is possible to identify the type of area being viewed, whether it be land, clouds, ocean, or ice. This scene identification is used together with the radiation flux measurements to build up a complete picture of the Earth's energy budget over time. || ", "hits": 16 }, { "id": 3105, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3105/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2005-02-01T12:00:00-05:00", "title": "Instantaneous Incoming Solar Flux (WMS)", "description": "The Earth's climate is determined by energy transfer from the sun to the Earth's land, oceans, and atmosphere. As the Earth rotates, the sun lights up only part of the Earth at a time, and some of that incoming solar energy is reflected and some is absorbed, depending on type of area it lights. The amount of reflection and absorption is critical to the climate. An instrument named CERES orbits the Earth every 99 minutes and measures the reflected solar energy. This animation shows the incoming solar radiation within view of CERES during 29 orbits on June 20 and 21 of 2003. Because this is incoming solar flux, its magnitude only depends on the position of the sun, and, because the orbit is synchronized with the sun, the orbit crosses the equator in the daylight at about 1:30 PM local time on every orbit. This data is not actually measured from CERES, but is calculated to compare with the outgoing radiation that CERES does measure. || ", "hits": 92 }, { "id": 3106, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3106/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2005-02-01T12:00:00-05:00", "title": "Instantaneous Net Radiation Flux (WMS)", "description": "The Earth's climate is determined by energy transfer from the sun to the Earth's land, oceans, and atmosphere. As the Earth rotates, the sun lights up only part of the Earth at a time, and some of that incoming solar energy is reflected and some is absorbed, depending on type of area it lights. The amount of reflection and absorption is critical to the climate. An instrument named CERES orbits the Earth every 99 minutes and measures the reflected solar energy. This animation shows the net radiation flux within view of CERES during 29 orbits on June 20 and 21 of 2003. The net flux is the incoming solar flux minus the outgoing reflected (shortwave) and thermal (longwave) radiation. If the flux in a region is positive, the Earth is being warmed by the sun in that region, while cooling regions have a negative flux. It is clear from the animation that the most intensive heating occurs in ocean regions with few clouds, while the second most intense are cloud-free regions over vegetated land areas. Deserts, cloudy regions, and ice caps all reflect enough solar radiation to reduce the amount of heating. Regions of night are, of course, cooling regions because there is no incoming flux at all. || ", "hits": 33 }, { "id": 3108, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3108/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2005-02-01T12:00:00-05:00", "title": "Instantaneous Outgoing Shortwave Flux (WMS)", "description": "The Earth's climate is determined by energy transfer from the sun to the Earth's land, oceans, and atmosphere. As the Earth rotates, the sun lights up only part of the Earth at a time, and some of that incoming solar energy is reflected and some is absorbed, depending on type of area it lights. The amount of reflection and absorption is critical to the climate. An instrument named CERES orbits the Earth every 99 minutes and measures the reflected solar energy. This animation shows the reflected solar radiation measured by CERES during 29 orbits on June 20 and 21 of 2003. Reflected solar radiation is shortwave radiation, and the most intense reflection comes from clouds, followed by ice. Land reflects only a small amount of radiation, but ocean reflects the least, which is the reason that the sun heats the oceans so effectively. Of course, there is no reflected solar radiation in regions of night. || ", "hits": 13 }, { "id": 3109, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3109/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2005-02-01T12:00:00-05:00", "title": "Solar Irradiance (WMS)", "description": "The Earth's climate is determined by energy transfer from the sun to the Earth's land, oceans, and atmosphere. As the Earth moves around the sun, the fact that the Earth's axis is tilted means that the sun's overhead position moves from the Northern Hemisphere to the Southern Hemisphere and back from one summer to the next. This effect causes winters to be cold and summers warm in the Northern Hemisphere and the opposite in the Southern Hemisphere. This animation shows the incoming solar irradiance on the Earth at noon on the Greenwich meridian during an entire year, illustrating this movement. The magnitude of this irradiance comes from measurements by the TIM instrument on SORCE. Since the Earth's orbit is elliptical, the magnitude of the solar irradiance at the Earth is least when the Earth is farthest from the sun and greatest when the earth is closest. This 6 or 7 percent change can be seen in the animation by watching the dark bands move. When the bands expand from the bright spot, the Earth is getting closer to the sun, from July through December, and when they contract the Earth is moving away, from January through June. The sun's irradiance is also variable from day to day, but that effect is about ten times smaller than the effect of the earth's orbit. || ", "hits": 99 }, { "id": 3027, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3027/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2005-01-12T12:00:00-05:00", "title": "Snow Cover over North America during the Winter of 2001-2002 (WMS)", "description": "The amount of snow covering the land has both short and long term effects on the environment. From season to season, snow coverage and depth affect soil moisture and water availability, which directly influence agriculture, wildfire occurrences, and drought. In the long term, the part of the Earth's surface covered by snow reflects up to 80 or 90 percent of the incoming solar radiation as opposed to the 10 or 20 percent that uncovered land reflects, and this has important consequences for the Earth's climate. Satellites identify the snow cover precisely by looking at the difference between light reflected off snow in the visible and the infrared wavelengths. This visualization shows the snow cover over North America from October, 2001, through April, 2002, as measured by the MODIS instrument on the Terra satellite. Since this instrument cannot measure snow cover through clouds, this visualization designates an area as covered by snow when the instrument takes a valid measurement showing greater than 50% snow coverage in that area. This area is assumed to be covered in snow until the instrument takes a valid measurement showing less than 40% coverage in that same area. In this animation, snow coverage is measured every 8 days. || ", "hits": 15 }, { "id": 2917, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/2917/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2004-02-20T12:00:00-05:00", "title": "SORCE Monitors Solar Variability during Record Solar Flares", "description": "The SORCE mission monitors solar variability to determine its impact on the Earth's climate. The X-ray photometer aboard SORCE observes the record-breaking solar flares in the Fall of 2003. The line graph shows the photometer's measured solar radiation flux in the 1-7 nanometer wavelength band (x-ray) measured in milliwatts per square meter. The ultraviolet (195 angstrom) imagery from SOHO/EIT (green) illustrates where the flares (the bright white spots) are located on the solar disk. || ", "hits": 33 } ] }