PLANET EARTH — Did you know a mega hot eruption can lead to a temporarily cooler planet?<br /><br />The New York Times reports NASA is developing plans to study how eruptions cool the planet.<br /><br />The plan involves sending high-altitude balloons into the air to observe a volcanic eruption event. When sulfur dioxide from an eruption mixes with airborne water vapor, the two create aerosols that reflect sunlight.<br /><br />In 1991, a volcanic eruption in the Philippines sent 20 million tons of sulfur dioxide planet's atmosphere. As a result, global temperatures cooled by one degrees centigrade.
