Skip Navigation

Explore

Quiz: Our world, other worlds

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

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

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

Credit

NASA Climate Change website

PREVIEW

Related

The IPCC's four key findings
More
The IPCC's four key findings
Graphic: The IPCC's four key findings
Video: Using observations from NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO-2) satellite, scientists developed a model of the behavior of carbon in the atmosphere from September 1, 2014 to August 31, 2015.
More
Following carbon dioxide th...
Video: Following atmospheric carbon dioxide
These cloud formations were seen over the western Aleutian Islands. Their color variations are probably due to differences in temperature and in the size of water droplets that make up the clouds. This image was acquired by the Landsat 7 satellite on June 16, 2000.
More
Aleutian clouds
Aleutian clouds
This chart shows monthly CO2 levels in recent years.
More
Graphic: Carbon Dioxide Con...
Graphic: Carbon Dioxide Concentration
The relentless rise of carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere.
More
The inexorable rise of carb...
Graphic: The relentless rise of carbon dioxide
City vs. desert - Climate365 graphic
More
City vs. desert - Climate36...
Graphic: City vs. desert temperatures
Perhaps the most impressive of cloud formations, cumulonimbus (from the Latin for “pile” and “rain cloud”) clouds form due to vigorous convection (rising and overturning) of warm, moist and unstable air. Surface air is warmed by the sun-heated ground surface and rises; if sufficient atmospheric moisture is present, water droplets will condense as the air mass encounters cooler air at higher altitudes. The air mass itself also expands and cools as it rises due to decreasing atmospheric pressure, a process known as adiabatic cooling. This type of convection is common in tropical latitudes year-round and during the summer season at higher latitudes. As water in the rising air mass condenses and changes from a gas to a liquid state, it releases energy to its surroundings, further heating the surrounding air and leading to more convection and rising of the cloud mass to higher altitudes. This leads to the characteristic vertical “towers” associated with cumulonimbus clouds, an excellent example of which is visible in this astronaut photograph. If enough moisture is present to condense and heat the cloud mass through several convective cycles, a tower can rise to altitudes of approximately 10 kilometers at high latitudes and to 20 kilometers in the tropics before encountering a region of the atmosphere known as the tropopause—the boundary between the troposphere and the stratosphere. The tropopause is characterized by a strong temperature inversion. Beyond the tropopause, the air no longer gets colder as altitude increases. The tropopause halts further upward motion of the cloud mass. The cloud tops flatten and spread into an anvil shape, as illustrated by this astronaut photograph. The photo was taken from a viewpoint that was at an angle from the vertical, rather than looking straight down towards the Earth’s surface. The image, taken while the International Space Station was located over western Africa near the Senegal-Mali border, shows a fully formed anvil cloud with numerous smaller cumulonimbus towers rising near it. The high energy levels of these storm systems typically make them hazardous due to associated heavy precipitation, lightning, high wind speeds and possible tornadoes.
More
Cumulonimbus cloud over Africa
Cumulonimbus cloud over Africa
Video: Two key climate change indicators have broken numerous records through the first half of 2016.
More
Record-breaking climate tre...
Video: Record-breaking climate trends in 2016
Test your knowledge of ocean salinity and its relationship to climate change.
More
Test your knowledge of ocea...
Quiz: Ocean salinity
Test your knowledge of sea level rise and its effect on global populations.
More
Test your knowledge of sea ...
Quiz: Sea level rise
Quiz: Our home planet
More
Quiz: Our home planet
Quiz: Our home planet
Video: NASA scientists release the first new global map of Earth at night since 2012.
More
Video: Lights of human acti...
Video: Lights of human activity shine in NASA's image of Earth at night
Temperature agreement - Climate 365 graphic
More
Temperature agreement - Cli...
Graphic: Earth's temperature record
Video: The ocean's important role in absorbing heat and carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
More
Ocean circulation plays an ...
Video: Ocean circulation plays an important role in absorbing carbon from the atmosphere
Video: Southern Hemisphere ozone between July 1 and December 31 for selected years between 1979 and 2018.
More
Video: Ozonewatch 2018
Video: Ozonewatch 2018
How much do you know about glaciers and ice caps?
More
Test your knowledge of the ...
Quiz: Ice and glaciers
Video: Simulation of global clouds and aerosols from September 1, 2005, to December 31, 2005.
More
Video: Simulated clouds and...
Video: Simulated clouds and aerosols
Video: how different factors, both natural and industrial, contribute to global warming.
More
How global warming stacks up
Video: How global warming stacks up
Test your knowledge of energy and its role in our climate.
More
Test your knowledge of ener...
Quiz: Energy
Land. Water. Fire. Ice. These elements are basic ingredients that make up planet Earth. Take a moment to admire the magnificent spectacle of our stunning home planet from the perspective of space.
More
Land. Water. Fire. Ice. The...
Video: Majestic Planet
NASA's new Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 space satellite will probe the carbon cycle like never before, telling us where the carbon is going and giving us clues as to where we will end up.
More
Atmospheric carbon dioxide ...
Graphic: Measuring carbon dioxide from space
This chart shows monthly CO2 levels in recent years.
More
Video: Carbon Dioxide Conce...
Video: Carbon Dioxide Concentration
Track Earth's vital signs and fly along with NASA's Earth-observing satellites.
More
Eyes on the Earth
Interactive: Eyes on the Earth
Quiz: The air we breathe
More
Quiz: The air we breathe
Quiz: The air we breathe
A detailed look at Jupiter's and Earth's atmospheres and cores as we unlock mysteries of the solar system.
More
Jupiter and Earth: Giant di...
Infographic: Jupiter and Earth: Giant discoveries ahead

Explore

Interactives, galleries and apps

Images of Change

Images of Change

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

Climate Mobile Apps

Keep track of Earth's vital signs, see the planet in a state of flux and slow the pace of global warming with NASA's free mobile apps.
More
Climate Time Machine

Climate Time Machine

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

Eyes on the Earth

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

Global Ice Viewer

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