vania-janet/multiturn-rag-retrieval-data huggingface dataset:
Aerosols: Tiny Particles, Big Impact
Holben, B., Tanré, D., Smirnov, A., et al. (2001). An emerging ground-based aerosol climatology: aerosol optical depth from AERONET. Journal of Geophysical Research, VOL. 106, NO. D11, PP. 12,067-12,097.
Kaufman, Y., Tanré, D., and Boucher, O. (2002). A satellite view of aerosols in the climate system. Nature, 419, 215-223.
Koren, I., Kaufman, Y., Remer, L., and Martins, J. (2004). Measurement of the effect of Amazon smoke on inhibition of cloud formation. Science, 303, 1342.
Levin, Z. and Cotton, W.R. (2008). Aerosol pollution impact on precipitation: A scientiﬁc review. Report from the WMO/IUGG International Aerosol Precipitation Science, Assessment Group (IAPSAG). Geneva, Switzerland: World Meteorological Organization.
Mishchenko, M., et al., (2007). Long-term satellite record reveals likely recent aerosol trend. Science, 315, 1543. 
Remer, L., et al., (2008). An emerging aerosol climatology from the MODIS satellite sensors. Journal of Geophysical Research, 113, D14S01. 
Seinfeld, J. (2008). Atmospheric science: Black carbon and brown clouds. Nature Geoscience, 1, 15–16.
Solomon, S., D. Qin, M. Manning, Z. Chen, M. Marquis, K.B. Averyt, M. Tignor and H.L. Miller, (eds.). (2007). Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA: Cambridge University Press.
Imagine the Universe!
A system of galaxies containing from a few to a few thousand member galaxies which are all gravitationally bound to each other.
collecting area
The amount of area a telescope has that is capable of collecting electromagnetic radiation. Collecting area is important for a telescope's sensitivity: the more radiation it can collect (that is, the larger its collecting area), the more likely it is to detect dim objects.
Compton effect (A.H. Compton; 1923)
An effect that demonstrates that photons (the quantum of electromagnetic radiation) have momentum. A photon fired at a stationary particle, such as an electron, will impart momentum to the electron and, since its energy has been decreased, will experience a corresponding decrease in frequency.

 Tell me how gamma-ray astronomers use the Compton effect.

Copernicus
NASA ultraviolet/X-ray mission, also known as OAO-3.

 Tell me more about the Copernicus mission.

Copernicus, Nicolaus (1473 - 1543)
Polish astronomer who advanced the theory that the Earth and other planets revolve around the Sun (the "heliocentric" theory). This was highly controversial at the time, since the prevailing Ptolemaic model held that the Earth was the center of the universe, and all objects, including the sun, circle it. The Ptolemaic model had been widely accepted in Europe for 1000 years when Copernicus proposed his model. (It should be noted, however, that the heliocentric idea was first put forth by Aristarcus of Samos in the 3rd century B.C., a fact known to Copernicus but long ignored by others prior to him.).

 Show me a picture of Nicholas Copernicus!

corona (plural: coronae)
The uppermost level of a star's atmosphere. In the sun, the corona is characterized by low densities and high temperatures (> 1,000,000 degrees K).

 Tell me about X-rays from the Sun's corona.
 Tell me about X-rays from other stellar coronae.

COS-B
A satellite launched in August 1975 to study extraterrestrial sources of gamma-ray emission.

 Tell me more about COS-B.
Guides | NASA eClips
In this lesson, students will address the common misconception that light is unaffected as it passes through transparent materials. As the students develop their understanding of the interaction of light with matter through explore activities, they will learn new vocabulary that applies to new concepts. Students will apply the vocabulary as they explain how light interacts with different materials. 

 Download Interactions of Light - Student Packet 

 Interactions of Light - Teacher Packet 

 In this lesson, students will address the common misconception that light is unaffected as it passes through transparent materials. As the students develop their understanding of the interaction of light with matter through explore activities, they will learn new vocabulary that applies to new concepts. Students will apply the vocabulary as they explain how light interacts with different materials. 

 Download Interactions of Light - Teacher Packet 

 Magnets and Metals - Student Packet 

 In this lesson, students will correct the common misconception that all metals are attracted to magnets. They will learn new vocabulary to develop their understanding of this scientific concept and apply this vocabulary to explain why some metals are repelled and others are attracted to magnets. 

 Download Magnets and Metals - Student Packet 

 Magnets and Metals - Teacher Packet 

 In this lesson, students will correct the common misconception that all metals are attracted to magnets. They will learn new vocabulary to develop their understanding of this scientific concept and apply thisvocabulary to explain why some metals are repelled and others are attracted to magnets. 

 Download Magnets and Metals - Teacher Packet 

 Mass and Weight - Teacher Packet 

 In this activity, students will explain the difference between mass and weight as a result of watching the NASA Spotlite video, learning the vocabulary collaboratively, and discussing how gravity affects falling objects. 

 Download Mass and Weight - Teacher Packet 

 Moon Phases and Shadows - Student Packet 

 In this lesson, students will correct the common misconception that moon phases are caused when shadows are cast on the Moon by other objects. They will learn new vocabulary to develop their understanding of this scientific concept, and apply this vocabulary to explain how moon phases are caused by the Moon orbiting Earth. 

 Download Moon Phases and Shadows - Student Packet 

 Moon Phases and Shadows - Teacher Packet
October | 2014 | Terra
The brown and orange shades are most pronounced in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, northern Wisconsin, upstate New York, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, and southern Quebec and Ontario. You can also see faint traces of phytoplankton blooms in the lakes and offshore in the North Atlantic.
The changing of leaf color in temperate forests involves several causes and reactions, but the dominant factors are sunlight and heat. Since temperatures tend to drop sooner and sunlight fades faster at higher latitudes, the progression of fall color changes tends to move from north to south across North America from mid-September through mid-November. Read more
See an animation of the changing colors on this article from the Huffington Post.

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STEREO
The changing Sun produces sunspots and solar storms over an 11-year cycle of activity, which is driven by the reversal of its magnetic poles over this time period. Solar storms (coronal mass ejections and flares) occur most often and more powerfully during its period of solar maximum. The current solar maximum is expected to peak in 2012 or 2013.

The Sun in UV changing over 5 years
     

A century of sunspot number data
     

Animation: EIT 195 Large (QT, 5.2M) 
	small (QT, 1.6M)

Solar Storms
There are two kinds of solar storms, often related to each other: 
coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and solar flares. A flare occurs when 
magnetic energy builds to a peak near the Sun's surface and explodes.
This intense, fast-paced event results in an intense burst of light,
including X-rays, in the Sun's lower atmosphere. A much larger storm, 
a CME erupts when magnetic field lines snap, sending billions of tons 
of material into space at millions of miles per hour. The cloud expands 
to over 30 million miles by the time it reaches Earth. Both flares and CMEs 
can result in additional high speed particles being shot out into the solar 
system at close to the speed of light.

Impact From Space
One beautiful sign of the space weather at the Earth is the aurora.
When the CMEs from the sun interact with the Earth's own protective
magnetic shield, its magnetosphere, the magnetosphere becomes
disturbed. This ultimately causes charged particles to flow down along 
magnetic field lines into the polar regions where they hit the 
atmosphere and create the bright aurora. If viewed from high above 
Earth, these regions appear as ovals. Images taken by astronauts in the
space shuttles show the depth of aurora. Other impacts from space
weather include short-circuiting power grids that cause blackouts,
disrupting communications, damaging satellites, and endangering
astronauts with radiation.

     

     

Aurora
Aurora appear from Earth as shimmering, dancing lights in the night 
sky.
Watch the Skies -
In this 30 second exposure, a meteor streaks across the sky during the annual Perseid meteor shower, Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021, in Spruce Knob, West Virginia. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
Happy skywatching!
By Lauren Perkins
NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center
 

Author Beth RidgewayPosted on April 18, 2024Categories MSFC Meteoroid Environment OfficeTags Eta Aquarid, Lyrid meteor, Perseid meteor 

When and How to Spot the ‘Devil Comet’ 

Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks is one of the brightest known periodic comets. It earned the nickname of “devil comet” in 2023 when an outburst caused the comet to have an asymmetrical appearance, like having horns. It comes around every 71 years and is currently getting brighter as it flies toward the Sun.
As spring approaches for northern skygazers, Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks is growing brighter. Currently visible with small telescopes and binoculars, the Halley-type comet could reach naked eye visibility in the coming weeks. Seen despite a foggy atmosphere, the comet’s green coma and long tail hover near the horizon in this well-composed deep night skyscape from Revuca, Slovakia recorded on March 5. M31, also known as the Andromeda galaxy, and bright yellowish star Mirach, second brightest star in the constellation Andromeda, hang in the sky above the comet. The Andromeda galaxy is some 2.5 million light-years beyond the Milky Way.Image Credit & Copyright: Petr Horálek / Institute of Physics in Opava
In the Northern Hemisphere, the comet is best viewed with binoculars or a small telescope – right after the Sun dips below the horizon, look West just beneath the Moon, and just right of Jupiter. An hour after sunset, the comet drops so low, it will be difficult to see without a perfectly clear view of the horizon. The comet then sets an hour later.
Sky chart showing the crescent Moon above Jupiter and Comet 12P in the western sky following sunset on April 10.Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Watching for Color in the Wasatch Back
As the arrival of autumn brings shorter daylight hours and cooler temperatures, chlorophyll concentrations drop. Loss of the green pigment offers a chance for other leaf pigments—particularly carotenoids (yellow) and anthocyanins (red)—to show off their hues.
In the Wasatch Back region, reds and oranges tend to show up first. These colors adorn trees such as bigtooth maple and Gambel oak. After those trees reach their peak autumn color, aspens usually begin to reveal bright yellow leaves. The change is visible in this pair of satellite images from autumn 2023, which show Heber City and surrounding forests on September 25 (left) and October 19 (right). They were acquired with the OLI (Operational Land Imager) on Landsat 8 and the OLI-2 on Landsat 9, respectively.
The timing and intensity of Utah’s autumn colors depend on several factors. Elevation plays a role, with fall color generally starting sooner at colder, higher altitudes. The Wasatch Back region is higher and cooler than the Salt Lake Valley and tends to see fall color sooner. Heber City and Park City are about 5,600 and 7,000 feet (1,700 and 2,100 meters) above sea level, compared to Salt Lake City at 4,300 feet.
Too much or too little precipitation, and the timing of that water, also affect fall color. Utah’s trees this year benefited from a large snowpack and wet summer. None of the state was in severe drought at the end of August 2023, compared to 58 percent of the state during the same time in 2022, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. The water caused leaves to change color later than usual this year, but the color was likely more vibrant, according to news reports.
NASA Earth Observatory images by Wanmei Liang, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey. Story by Kathryn Hansen.

View this area in EO Explorer

The eastern side of the Wasatch Range in autumn displays abundant reds and oranges, followed by vibrant yellows.
Image of the Day for November 13, 2023

Instruments:
Landsat 8 — OLI
Power Outages in Puerto Rico
Nighttime imagery can be used by relief agencies to identify areas that are most in need of aid and support.
Precision is critical for studies with night lights. Raw, unprocessed images can be misleading because moonlight, clouds, pollution, seasonal vegetation—even the position of the satellite—can change how light is reflected and can distort observations. The processing by the Black Marble team accounts for such changes and filters out stray light from sources that are not electric lights.
NASA Earth Observatory image by Joshua Stevens, using Black Marble data courtesy of Ranjay Shrestha/NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, VIIRS day-night band data from the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership, and Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey. Story by Michael Carlowicz.

View this area in EO Explorer

Four days after Hurricane Fiona made landfall on the island, citizens were coping with widespread power losses.
Image of the Day for September 23, 2022

Instruments:
Landsat 8 — OLI
Landsat 9 — OLI-2
Suomi NPP — VIIRS

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2022 North Atlantic Hurricane Season

Hurricane season in the basin runs from June 1 to November 30, although activity in 2022 got off to a slow start.

References & Resources

Cole, T.A. et al. (2017) Synergistic Use of Nighttime Satellite Data, Electric Utility Infrastructure, and Ambient Population to Improve Power Outage Detections in Urban Areas. Remote Sensing, 9 (3), 286.
Federal Emergency Management Agency (2022) Puerto Rico Hurricane Fiona. Accessed September 22, 2022.
NASA Earth Observatory (2018, December 13) Night Lights Show Slow Recovery from Maria.
NASA Earth Observatory (2017, April 12) Black Marble 2017: Night Light Maps Open Up New Applications.
NASA Earth Observatory (2016, September 23) Puerto Rico Goes Dark.
PowerOutage.Us (2022) Puerto Rico.
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Long Shadows of Mongolian Mountains
In central Asia, jagged mountain peaks rise high above the steppe.
Published May 26, 2024
 

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Sundown and Lights Up Over the U.S. Northeast
As sunlight waned, the glow of artificial light revealed patterns of urbanization along the populous corridor.
Published May 12, 2024
 

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Pangong Lake in Winter
Months before the arrival of tourists and migrating birds, this high-elevation lake on the Tibetan Plateau was glazed with ice.
Published May 5, 2024
 

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Haze Meets the Sulaiman Mountains
Clouds and haze crash into high-elevation ridges in this oblique photograph, taken by an astronaut on the International Space Station.
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In the country’s southeast, towering table-top mountains known as tepuis host unique species of flora and fauna.
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These maps depict aerosol concentrations in the air based on how the tiny particles reflect or absorb visible and infrared light.

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Wildland fires in 2023 brought hazy skies and poor air quality to several countries north of the equator.
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Land surface temperatures rise and fall with the heat of the Sun, and they represent how hot or cold the surface would feel to touch. These maps show daytime land temperatures as measured from space.

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Satellite images of Earth at night have been a curiosity for the public and a tool of fundamental research for at least 25 years. They have provided a broad, beautiful picture, showing how humans have shaped the planet and lit up the darkness.
Published Apr 12, 2017

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From soil conditions to crop productivity, satellite data help inform farmers, scientists, and decision-makers in the U.S. and around the world.
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NASA satellites document how our world—forests, oceans, human landscapes, even the Sun—changes over months, seasons, and years.
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Over the years, astronauts aboard the orbiting laboratory have snapped spectacular photographs of Earth’s snow and ice in both hemispheres.
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Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live in a different part of the world? What would the weather be like? What kinds of animals would you see? Which plants live there? By investigating these questions, you are learning about biomes.
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mov

Tiny solid and liquid particles suspended in the atmosphere are called
aerosols. Windblown dust, sea salts, volcanic ash, smoke from wildfires,
and pollution from factories are all examples of aerosols. Depending upon their size, type, and location, aerosols can either cool the surface, or warm it. They can help clouds to form, or they can inhibit cloud formation. And if inhaled, some 
aerosols can be harmful to people's health.
These maps show average monthly aerosol amounts around the world based on observations from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Terra satellite. Satellite measurements of aerosols, called aerosol optical thickness, are based on the fact that the particles change the way the atmosphere reflects and absorbs visible and infrared light.
Watch the Skies -
Will the comet be visible during the eclipse?
It is certainly a possibility. If Comet 12P remains around a magnitude 5, it would only be visible in binoculars during the few minutes of totality. Consider enjoying the main spectacle instead of using that time to locate Comet 12P and attempt to view it at another time.
For more skywatching highlights in April, check out Jet Propulsion Lab’s What’s Up series.

By Lauren Perkins
NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center
 

Author Lee MohonPosted on April 5, 2024April 5, 2024Categories UncategorizedTags comet, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Meteoroid Environment Office, periodic comet, Watch the SkiesLeave a comment on When and How to Spot the ‘Devil Comet’ 

March’s Lunar Eclipse Before April’s Solar Spectacle 

April’s solar eclipse  has stolen the headlines for many months now, and rightfully so with millions of Americans in the path of totality.

But did you know there is also a lunar eclipse before the solar eclipse?
As the full moon rises during the late evening of March 24 into the early morning hours of March 25, it will travel through the Earth’s penumbra, or the faint outer part of its shadow. This is called a penumbral eclipse.

When the moon passes through the Earth’s shadow, it causes the Moon to look very unusual for a short period of time. This event is called a lunar eclipse, and it occurs roughly twice a year. Learn more about how lunar eclipses work in this video!
Credit: NASA Video
The lunar eclipse will be visible to all of North and South America. The Moon will dim very slightly over those few nighttime hours, which can make for an interesting timelapse, even if it can be difficult to notice by just a glance at the sky.
Happy skywatching!
By Lauren Perkins
NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center
 

Author Beth RidgewayPosted on March 20, 2024March 20, 2024Categories UncategorizedTags lunar eclipse, solar eclipseLeave a comment on March’s Lunar Eclipse Before April’s Solar Spectacle 

View Nova Explosion, ‘New’ Star in Northern Crown
Watch the Skies -
In exposures recorded between April 28 and May 8 in 2022, this composited image shows nearly 90 eta Aquariid meteors streaking from the shower’s radiant in Aquarius over San Pedro de Atacama, Chile.
To really top off this year’s event, the new Moon aligns with the peak nights, therefore there will be no light interference to obscure the fainter meteors. There’s only one catch with this shower in particular – the best viewing time is from 4 a.m. to dawn. You will be able to see the glowing in the early evening, as the constellation Aquarius does not rise until around 4 a.m. local time. Set the alarm, grab the coffee, and settle in for what should be a magnificent meteor shower experience.
By Lauren Perkins
NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center
 

Author Beth RidgewayPosted on April 29, 2024Categories MSFC Meteoroid Environment OfficeTags Eta Aquariid, Eta Aquariids, meteor shower 

Enjoy the Warming Weather Under These 3 Upcoming Meteor Showers 

Still basking in that post-eclipse celestial glow? We’ve got great news – there is plenty of reasons to look up again and we are here to share in the skywatching excitement as meteor showers top the upcoming headlines.
It’s been a quiet few months for meteors, but the Lyrid meteor shower peaks overnight April 21-22. Unfortunately, the Moon will be at greater than 90% waxing gibbous so a lot of light interference will outshine the fainter meteors. Even under perfect conditions – dark, away from city lights, open view of the sky – only a few meteors per hour are expected to be visible to the naked eye because of the bright Moon. For a dedicated observer, it may still be worth spotting members of one of the oldest known meteor showers – the Lyrids have been observed for 2,700 years!

The Eta Aquarids meteor shower peaks during early May each year. These meteors are known for their speed, which can leave glowing “trains” (incandescent bits of debris in the wake of the meteor) which last for several seconds to minutes.