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Have burning questions about asteroids? Our experts have answers! (Spoiler Alert: none of them will hit Earth.) Our solar system is littered with asteroids and comets and sometimes they get a little close to Earth. When an asteroid or comet looks like it could come near our home planet, we keep close watch to warn of any potential impacts. Here's what you need to know about how we find, track, and monitor these near-Earth objects: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/as...

Our planet is a beautiful water-filled world, teeming with life. But did you know that Earth is not the only world in our solar system with an ocean? Here’s what you need to know about Ocean Worlds

You’ve heard of asteroids… But have you heard of Trojan asteroids? Our upcoming Lucy mission will study these time capsules from the birth of our solar system for the first time ever. Find out what you need to know about Trojan Asteroid

This mobile of feathery clouds will twist and turn in a gentle breeze. It even includes rain clouds with sparkling showers! You’ll have four kinds of clouds in your mobile: Cumulonimbus, cirrus, cumulus, and nimbostratus clouds. These clouds are different shapes, and they can mean very different things for the upcoming weather. Learn all about these clouds in the green bar on the right! To make this cloud mobile, you’ll need a few easy-to-find supplies—and a little patience to get the clouds balanced just right.

#NASAExplorers #S3E5 As the planet warms, fire seasons burn year-round and more areas are becoming flammable. #NASAExplorers are studying how fires are changing with the climate, and tracking how landscapes change after fires. With satellite data, people on the ground and partners with communities and agencies around the planet, #NASAExplorers are helping prepare for the “new normal” of fires on Earth. #S3E5

#NASAExplorers #S3E3 In the Arctic, fires are a natural part of the ecosystem. But as the climate changes, fires are burning longer and hotter, releasing long-buried carbon from the soil. #NASAExplorers are looking from high in the sky to deep below the ground to better understand how a warming climate affects fires in the Arctic…and how fires in the region will contribute to climate change in the future. #S3E3

#NASAExplorers #S3E3 In the Arctic, fires are a natural part of the ecosystem. But as the climate changes, fires are burning longer and hotter, releasing long-buried carbon from the soil. #NASAExplorers are looking from high in the sky to deep below the ground to better understand how a warming climate affects fires in the Arctic…and how fires in the region will contribute to climate change in the future. #S3E3

Chasing smoke is a round-the-clock business. Wildfire smoke can travel long distances and over several days, so #NASAExplorers with the Fire Influence on Regional to Global Environments and Air Quality (FIREX-AQ) mission took to the field to find where it goes. From a plane directly above the Shady Fire in the middle of the afternoon to a valley in the Sawtooth Mountains at 1 in the morning, explorers are gathering important data about how fire smoke affects communities near and far. #S3E2

o understand fires on Earth, you need a broad view — spanning from the poles to the equator and looking from high above the planet to down deep under the soil. That’s where #NASAExplorers come in! With satellites, with airplanes, with their own hands and with a data record spanning decades, Explorers are studying how our planet burns… and how that burning changes with the climate. This season, we’re headed to the western Pacific Ocean to the Northwest Territories and beyond to look fires on Earth.

How did life begin on Earth? Does life exist beyond our home planet? How do we search for it? These are the really tough questions astrobiologists want to answer by studying life as we know it. Here's what you need to know about our search for life in the cosmos: https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/

The search for ancient life. Planetary evolution. Preparing for future human exploration. There are so many reasons to study the Red Planet. If you're craving more, here’s what you need to know about Mars!

Beneath its icy surface, Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus has many surprises: a reservoir of liquid water, organic chemical compounds, and hydrothermal vents. Find out what you need to know about Enceladus, an ocean world which may have conditions friendly to life

Earth is not the only place in the solar system with rain, rivers, lakes and seas. Saturn’s moon Titan has them, too — not of water, but of liquid methane and ethane. This Earth-like world even hides an ocean of liquid water deep beneath its surface! Find out what you need to know about Titan.

Organic molecules, the building blocks of life, are found all throughout the universe, including planets, moons and asteroids in our own solar system. But what does “organic” really mean? Find out what you need to know about organic molecules.

Want to know more about our solar system but don’t know where to start? We’ve got you covered. Our What You Need to Know series takes you on a tour across the solar system, exploring some of the most intriguing features about our tiny slice of the Milky Way galaxy. From moons that hide vast liquid oceans to asteroids that hold the secrets of our universe to worlds that could be friendly to life, tune in to find out What You Need to Know

In honor of World Space Week, we’re visiting the Naval Observatory in Washington to talk to none other than Vice President Kamala Harris about the National Space Council. We also hear from NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough, who joins us from the International Space Station - that’s right, from space! Plus, we’re building a DIY telescope that you can make yourself at home.

Mars beckons and NASA is ready to heed the call of the Red Planet with the upcoming launch of the Perseverance rover. But before launch day, kids of all ages can put their imagination to paper via the latest edition of NASA Space Crafts

Our Moon isn’t the only moon out there. In fact, some planets have a lot of moons! Comprehension Questions: 1. Why does our Moon appear so big and bright? 2. A moon is a natural object that __________ anything larger than itself. 3. True or False: Moons are always the same shape and size. 4. Which two planets have no moons at all? 5. What makes Jupiter’s moon Europa special? Answer Key: 1. Because it’s closer to Earth than any other planet 2. Orbits 3. False 4. Mercury and Venus 5. There is thought to be a giant saltwater ocean under its surface Learn more about which planets have moons, and which don’t at https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/how-many-... Find more fun videos, games, and articles about space and Earth science at https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/ Voiceover provided by NASA scientist Dr. Moogega Stricker

Earth is a comfortable place for living things. It’s just the right temperatures for plants and animals – including humans – to thrive. Why is Earth so special? Well, one reason is: the greenhouse effect! Comprehension Questions: 1. The clear glass of a greenhouse allows sunlight to shine into the greenhouse, while also trapping the _______’s heat inside. This is how a greenhouse keeps plants warm, even at night and in the winter. 2. What is the name of the jacket of gases surrounding our Earth? 3. Name one of the greenhouse gases. 4. What kind of human activities can release more carbon dioxide into our atmosphere? 5. True or False: Extra greenhouse gases in our atmosphere cause our planet to warm up. Answer Key: 1. Sun 2. Atmosphere 3. Any of the following: Water vapor; Carbon dioxide; Methane; Ozone; Nitrous oxide; Chlorofluorocarbons 4. Anything involving burning fossil fuels 5. True

Video transcript: What's the difference between weather and climate? Take a look outside your window. Is it hot and sunny? Is it cloudy and rainy? Is there snow on the ground? When you look out the window, you’re seeing what the weather is like today. Weather is only temporary. For example, a blizzard can turn into a flood after just a few warm spring days. Climate, on the other hand, is more than just a few warm or cool days. Climate describes the typical weather conditions in an entire region for a very long time—30 years or more. Keeping an eye on changing weather can help us plan ahead. We know that if thunderclouds are forming overhead, it’s probably a good idea to stay inside. But it’s important to keep an eye on changes in Earth’s climate, too. And NASA has observed that Earth is getting warmer. Keeping track of Earth’s sea level is one way that we can know how quickly the climate is changing. As Earth’s climate warms, ice in Antarctica and Greenland is melting. This causes the level of the oceans to rise. NASA satellites can measure sea level rise from space. They can also track changes in the climate by measuring the clouds. We know that changes in the number, size or location of clouds could be caused by a change in Earth’s climate. NASA satellites are always orbiting Earth, looking down at our oceans and clouds. And they monitor Earth’s climate in other ways, too. It’s important to keep an eye on our planet and all the ways that it’s changing. Right now, it’s the only one we’ve got!

Every 1.5 millionths of a second, the sun releases more energy than all humans consume in an entire year. Without the sun there would be no light, no warmth, and no life. Its heat influences the environments of all the planets, dwarf planets, moons, asteroids, and comets in our solar system. How does a big ball of hydrogen create all that heat? Comprehension Questions: 1. Every _____ millionths of a second, the Sun releases more energy than all humans consume in an entire year. 2. True or False: If our Sun were smaller, it would be similar to the gas giant Jupiter. 3. Which new element is created from the Sun’s hydrogen atoms colliding with great force? 4. About how hot (in degrees Fahrenheit) does the Sun get at its core? 5. Name one thing that the Sun’s energy emits. Answer Key: 1. 1.5 2. True 3. Helium 4. 27 million degrees 5. Heat, charged particles, or light

This video was created for the 2017 solar eclipse. Find an updated version of this video here: • What Is a Solar Eclipse? Find out more about the sun at https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/.

How big are the planets and how far away are they compared to each other? See how the sizes of planets and the distances between them compare. And find out why it's so hard to create a scale model of the solar system that accurately represents both size and distance on a single screen or the page of a book.

Why is the sky blue and not purple, green or orange? It's all because of how the Sun's light reaches Earth! Comprehension Questions: 1. You can separate and see all the colors in white light if you shine sunlight through a specially shaped crystal called a _________. 2. True or False: Particles of dust, pollution, or smoke in the air can cause the whole sky to glow red. 3. Why do we only see blue light when we look up on a sunny day? 4. In what pattern does light travel? Answer Key: 1. Prism 2. True 3. Blue light is scattered more than the other colors because it travels as shorter, smaller waves. 4. Waves

You’ve probably seen beautiful photos of Earth and the other planets in our solar system. Those photos were often captured by spacecraft – robotic explorers doing their work far away from Earth. But how exactly do we send these spacecraft so far away? Well, it all starts with a rocket. A really, really big one. Comprehension Questions: 1. True or False: A rocket needs to get going to 17,800 MPH to thrust into Earth’s atmosphere and stay in orbit. 2. An object in space that orbits around a large object is called a ___________. 3. What is the name of the circular path that satellites follow around Earth? 4. The balance of momentum and _________ can keep a satellite in orbit for many years. Answer Key: 1. True 2. Satellite 3. Orbit 4. Gravity