Examine (daytime) surface temperature and solar radiation received at locations found near similar latitudes using NASA Data.

Use the AirNow.gov website to determine current air quality in US locations, as well as other information.

Students analyze a graph that illustrates the change in global surface temperature relative to 1951-1980 average temperatures.

This mini lesson engages students in writing a commentary for a NASA video regarding changes in global temperatures from 1880 to 2017. 

Students will watch and examine a NASA animation of Earth’s rising surface temperatures over an almost 150 year period.

Dr. Norman Loeb, an atmospheric scientist at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, is the principal investigator for an experiment called the Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES). CERES instruments measure how much of the sun’s energy is reflected back to space and how much thermal energy is emitted by Earth to space.