A planet facing global cooling after an asteroid strike, which the Enterprise worked to save during Rasmussen's visit.
Penthara IV is a populated world whose climate is plunged into a deep chill after an asteroid impact throws a dust cloud into its atmosphere. The Enterprise is sent to help.
In A Matter of Time, Picard and the crew attempt to warm the planet by using phasers to release carbon dioxide from underground pockets. The effort creates a new danger when volcanic activity spreads more dust, and the crew must find a further solution. Throughout, the self-described historian Berlinghoff Rasmussen watches and questions the crew.