vania-janet/multiturn-rag-retrieval-data huggingface dataset:
Discovery Alert: The Planet that Shouldn't Be There – Exoplanet Exploration: Planets Beyond our Solar System
The discovery of this seemingly impossible situation, relying on precise measurements using NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), shows that planet formation – and destruction – are likely far more intricate and unpredictable than many scientists might have thought.

The latest

Discovery Alert: Earth-sized Planet Has a 'Lava Hemisphere'

Discovery Alert: With Six New Worlds, 5,500 Discovery Milestone Passed!

Details: As stars like our Sun approach the ends of their lives, they begin to exhaust their nuclear fuel. They become red giants, expanding to their maximum size. If that happened in this case, the star would have grown outward from its center to 0.7 astronomical units – that is, about three-quarters the distance from Earth to the Sun. It would have swallowed and destroyed any nearby orbiting planets in the process. But planet b, a large gaseous world, sits at about 0.5 astronomical units, or AU. Because the planet could not have survived engulfment, Marc Hon, the lead author of a recent paper on the discovery, instead proposes two other possibilities: The planet is really the survivor of a merger between two stars, or it’s a new planet – formed out of the debris left behind by that merger.
The first scenario begins with two stars about the size of our Sun in close orbit around each other, the planet orbiting both. One of the stars “evolves” a bit faster than the other, going through its red giant phase, casting off its outer layers and turning into a white dwarf – the tiny but high-mass remnant of a star. The other just reaches the red giant stage before the two collide; what remains is the red giant we see today. This merger, however, stops the red giant from expanding further, sparing the orbiting planet from destruction. In the second scenario, the violent merger of the two stars ejects an abundance of dust and gas, which forms a disk around the remaining red giant. This “protoplanetary” disk provides the raw material for a new planet to coalesce. It’s a kind of late-stage second life for a planetary system – though the star still is nearing its end.
Podcasts | Terra
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Terra Podcasts are courtesy of EarthSky.org.
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Dave Pieri on keeping planes safe by watching volcanoes from space
9/27/2011

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NASA Terra 2009 Series:

Wayne Esaias on honeybee behavior
6/29/2009

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Jeff Key connects polar winds with your local weather
8/10/2009

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NASA Terra 2008 Series:

Bob Brakenridge tracks world flooding in real time
8/18/2008

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Josh Willis on oceans and Earth’s energy balance
9/8/2008

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Bruce Wielicki on clouds and Earth’s energy balance
9/8/2008

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Gabriele Pfister on pollution from high-latitude wildfires
9/22/2008

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Robert Bindschadler on what ice sheets reveal about climate
9/29/2008

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Molly Brown on early warning for famine
10/20/2008

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Michael Ramsey watches volcanoes from space
10/27/2008

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Jon Ranson calculates Earth’s carbon budget in a warmer world
11/10/2008

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Yang Liu on the intersection of air pollution and public health
11/24/2008

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Diane Davies on a wildfire alert system
Tides
Of course, in reality the Earth isn’t a smooth ball, so tides are also affected by the presence of continents, the shape of the Earth, the depth of the ocean in different locations, and more. The timing and heights of the tide near you will be affected by those additional elements.NASA/Vi NguyenDid You Know?: Tides don’t align perfectly with the Moon.Earth’s tidal bulges don’t line up exactly with the Moon’s position. Because the Moon is orbiting in the same direction as the Earth rotates, it takes extra time for any point on our planet to rotate and reach exactly below the Moon. This means that the high tide bulges are never directly lined up with the Moon, but a little ahead of it.NASA/Vi NguyenCan you easily predict the tides by following the path of the Moon? Not really! First of all, because the Moon is orbiting in the same direction as the Earth rotates, it takes extra time for any point on our planet to rotate and end up exactly below the Moon. The extra time is ~50 mins. This means that the high tide bulges are never directly lined up with the Moon, but a little ahead of it.In addition, Earth isn’t a perfect, smooth sphere. The tides we actually see at our shores are affected by everything from the shape of Earth’s continents to wind and storms. To get a true estimate of the tides near you, you’ll have to check the local tides forecast.Here Comes The SunNow, the Moon is the biggest influence on Earth’s tides because of its proximity ― but it isn’t the only influence. The Sun ― with about 27 million times the mass of the Moon ― is always the gorilla in the room when it comes to solar system equations. But it’s a distant gorilla, about 390 times farther away than the Moon, which gives it a little less than half of the Moon’s tide-generating force. Yet it still plays a role.Twice a month, when the Earth, Sun, and Moon line up, their gravitational power combines to make exceptionally high tides where the bulges occur, called spring tides, as well as very low tides where the water has been displaced.
Earth’s Surface & Interior | Terra
When MODIS detects a thermal anomaly over a volcano, an automatic scheduling program triggers a request for a high-resolution ASTER image of the volcano. ASTER’s high resolution visible, infrared, and thermal infrared measurements provide unprecedented information about erupting volcanoes.
Listen to ASTER scientist Dave Pieri talk about keeping planes safe by watching volcanoes from space on these podcasts (external site) available from EarthSky.
Listen to Michael Ramsey discuss monitoring volcanoes from space in this EarthSky podcast (external link).
Flooding
Terra responds to floods by providing images from ASTER, MODIS, and MISR. The images are used to map flood extent and impact. MODIS images support an automated flood mapping system.
Earthquakes and Landslides
ASTER images can be used to identify landslides in the wake of earthquakes or severe storms.
Terra Science on Earth Surface and Interior in the News

 

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Within a week after a puzzler image appears on this blog, we will post an annotated and captioned version as our Image of the Day. After we post the answer, we will acknowledge the first person to correctly identify the image at the bottom of this blog post. We also may recognize readers who offer the most interesting tidbits of information. Please include your preferred name or alias with your comment. If you work for or attend an institution that you would like to recognize, please mention that as well.
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October Puzzler
October 24th, 2023 by Kathryn Hansen

Update on October 31, 2023: This puzzler image shows Trou au Natron, a deep caldera and soda lake in northern Chad. Congratulations to Warren Hansen for being the first to correctly identify the feature and its location. Read more about the image in our Image of the Day story.
Every month on Earth Matters, we offer a puzzling satellite image. The October 2023 puzzler is shown above. Your challenge is to use the comments section to tell us where it is, what we are looking at, and why it is interesting. 
How to answer. You can use a few words or several paragraphs. You might simply tell us the location, or you can dig deeper and offer details about what satellite and instrument produced the image, what spectral bands were used to create it, or what is compelling about some obscure feature. If you think something is interesting or noteworthy, tell us about it.
The prize. We cannot offer prize money or a trip on the International Space Station, but we can promise you credit and glory. Well, maybe just credit. Within a week after a puzzler image appears on this blog, we will post an annotated and captioned version as our Image of the Day.
Derecho Darkens Houston
Derecho Darkens Houston

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Derecho Darkens Houston

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For much of May 2024, a potent heat dome sat over the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, causing sweltering temperatures that broke records in Central America. As air along its northern edge clashed with cooler, drier air in the United States, atmospheric instability and intense thunderstorms formed over the south-central U.S.
On May 16, 2024, an especially strong and long-lasting band of storms—a derecho—charged across Central Texas and struck Houston. The storm unleashed tornadoes and destructive winds that reached 100 miles (60 kilometers) per hour. It shattered windows, tore roofs off homes, and toppled trees and power lines. Nearly one million homes and businesses in the Greater Houston area lost power, according to news reports.
Power outages were widespread enough to be noticeable in nighttime satellite images. The left map above is a composite showing normal night light conditions in April 2024; the right map shows the same area early on May 18, after the derecho.
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Derecho Darkens Houston
Destructive winds left many people in the most populous city in Texas without power.
Published May 22, 2024

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Orce’s Archaeological Wonderland
Ancient hominin fossils lie beneath the sandy soils on the outskirts of this village in southern Spain. 
 
Published May 20, 2024

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Farming on Fertile Land in France
Farmers grow a variety of crops along river floodplains near Lyon.
Published May 19, 2024

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Historic Geomagnetic Storm Dazzles
Space scientists and sky-watchers were treated to a stunning display of the northern lights in May 2024.
Published May 16, 2024

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Smoke and Fire in British Columbia
Unusually early and intense fires are spreading rapidly amid drought and high winds.
Published May 13, 2024

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Explore Earth Science - NASA Science
Most of all, we look at Earth as a system, examining the cycles and processes—the water cycle, the carbon cycle, ocean circulation, the movement of heat—that interact and influence each other in a complex, dynamic dance across seasons and decades.Why Does NASA Study Earth?NASA is designing a new set of Earth-focused missions to provide key information to guide efforts related to climate change, natural hazard mitigation, fighting forest fires, and improving real-time agricultural processes.Each uniquely designed satellite in the Earth System Observatory will complement the others, working in tandem to create a 3D, holistic view of Earth, from bedrock to atmosphere.NASA's Earth System ObservatoryAddressing, Mitigating Climate ChangeFeatured TOPICAir QualityAir pollution is a significant threat to human health and our environment. Instruments on NASA satellites, along with airborne and ground-based sensors, are constantly collecting data on major pollutants in our atmosphere.Learn MoreSea Level RiseSea level around the world has been rising for reasons both natural and human-caused.Rising WatersWith satellites, airborne missions, shipboard measurements, and supercomputers, NASA has been investigating sea level rise for decades.Read MoreTaking a Measure of Sea Level RiseSea level around the world has been rising for reasons both natural and human-caused. This series of articles explores how NASA and other science institutions measure and monitor these changes.Read MoreUnderstanding Sea Level  NASA keeps track of sea level change and its causes from space. Find out more about how NASA satellite observations help our understanding of this complex topic.Read MorePhytoplanktonThey’re small, but they’re mighty. From producing oxygen we breathe to soaking up carbon we emit to feeding fish we eat, tiny phytoplankton are a crucial part of ocean ecosystems and essential to life as we know it on Earth. NASA Wants to Identify Phytoplankton Species from Space.
Glossary - NASA Science
Spitzer observed infrared (heat) radiation from exoplanets, stars, stellar nurseries, the centers of galaxies and the early stages of planetary system formation.Light curve:Graphical representation of changes in the brightness of space objects over time, including those of variable stars, supernovae and transiting exoplanets that sometimes pass in front of their stars.Hot Jupiter:A giant, gas planet in extremely close orbit around its star. Some complete a single orbit—their “year”—in as little as a few Earth days.Water World:Hypothesized extrasolar planets with surfaces completely covered by deep oceans of water.Radial Velocity:The amount of “wobble” induced in a star by the gravity of an orbiting planet, or planets. By measuring the stretching and compressing of light wavelengths from the star, as it is pulled in one direction, then another, Earthbound observers can detect extrasolar planets.Mass:The mass of a planet is the amount of matter in the planet, which is not always the same as its “size.” Exoplanet masses are measured in comparison to Earth for smaller rocky planets, or Jupiter for big gas planets. The standard unit of mass is the kilogram (kg), and the Earth’s mass is about 5.97 x 1024 kg.Brown dwarf:A star-like object that is not quite massive enough to burn like a star, but bigger than a planet.Ultra-cool dwarf:Star-like objects with effective temperatures of less than 2,700 Kelvin are referred to as‘ultracool dwarfs.' This group includes stars with extremely low mass and brown dwarfs, or objects that are not quite massive enough to burn like a star. “Dwarf” is the term for an average adult star, used to distinguish stars like the sun from the giant stars that exist in the universe.Spectroscopy:A method of analyzing light by separating it into distinct wavelengths, which allows one to identify its chemical components (by their unique wavelength signatures) to determine the atmospheric components of alien worlds.White dwarf:A dim, dense, compact star; the remnant core that remains after intermediate-mass stars (similar to the Sun) exhaust their nuclear fuel and blow off their outer layers.
NASA Launches Small Climate Satellite to Study Earth’s Poles - NASA
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A Blanket of Ash from Ruang
The powerful eruption lofted ash high into the atmosphere and spread tephra and other volcanic debris across the small island in Indonesia.
Published Apr 23, 2024

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Fresh Flows Spread Across Iceland
The latest fissure eruption on Iceland’s Reykjanes peninsula was the largest of four recent bouts of activity near the town of Grindavík.
Published Apr 3, 2024

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An Underwater Plume From Kavachi
A Landsat satellite acquired this image of discolored water drifting from the active underwater volcano.
Published Mar 15, 2024

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An Eruption for Galápagos Iguanas
A volcano on Fernandina, an uninhabited island dense with wildlife, is lighting up the night sky with the glow of lava.
Published Mar 8, 2024

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Another Eruption in Iceland
For the third time since December 2023, fresh lava has flowed across parts of the Reykjanes peninsula.
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What Is an Exoplanet? | NASA Space Place – NASA Science for Kids
Smaller Earth-like planets are much harder to find because they create only small wobbles that are hard to detect.

How can we find Earth-like planets in other solar systems?
In 2009, NASA launched a spacecraft called Kepler to look for exoplanets. Kepler looked for planets in a wide range of sizes and orbits. And these planets orbited around stars that varied in size and temperature.
Some of the planets discovered by Kepler are rocky planets that are at a very special distance from their star. This sweet spot is called the habitable zone, where life might be possible.

Artist's rendition of the Kepler spacecraft. Credit: NASA/Kepler mission/Wendy Stenzel

Kepler detected exoplanets using something called the transit method. When a planet passes in front of its star, it’s called a transit. As the planet transits in front of the star, it blocks out a little bit of the star's light. That means a star will look a little less bright when the planet passes in front of it.
Astronomers can observe how the brightness of the star changes during a transit. This can help them figure out the size of the planet. 

See that little black circle? That's Venus transiting our Sun back in 2012. Credit: NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory

By studying the time between transits, astronomers can also find out how far away the planet is from its star. This tells us something about the planet’s temperature. If a planet is just the right temperature, it could contain liquid water—an important ingredient for life.
So far, thousands of planets have been discovered by the Kepler mission. And more will be found by NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) mission, which is observing the entire sky to locate planets orbiting the nearest and brightest stars.
We now know that exoplanets are very common in the universe. And future NASA missions have been planned to discover many more!

Want to learn even more about exoplanets?
Visit NASA Exoplanets 101.

 	article last updated January 10, 2022
 

More about exoplanets!