                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                               2022 August 22

                        Earth's Recent Climate Spiral
            Video Credit: NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio

   Explanation: Is our Earth warming? Compared to the past 250 million
   years, the Earth is currently enduring a relative cold spell, possibly
   about four degrees Celsius below average. Over the past 120 years,
   though, data indicate that the average global temperature of the Earth
   has increased by nearly one degree Celsius. The featured visualization
   video depicts Earth's recent global warming in graphic terms. The
   depicted temperatures are taken from the Goddard Institute for Space
   Studies' Surface Temperature Analysis. Already noticeable by many,
   Earth's recent warming trend is causing sea levels to rise,
   precipitation patterns to change, and pole ice to melt. Few now
   disagree that recent global warming is occurring, and the
   Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has concluded that we
   humans have created a warming surge that is likely to continue. A
   continuation could impact many local agricultures and even the global
   economy. Although there seems to be no simple solutions, geoengineering
   projects that might help include artificial cloud creation to reduce
   the amount of sunlight heating the Earth's surface.

                  Tomorrow's picture: meteor mediterranean
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
                           NASA Science Activation
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

