A near-Earth <a href="/our_solar_system/asteroids.html&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/h/neptune/=/earth/climate/=/earth/climate/cli_greengas.html">asteroid</a> - named 2012 DA14 by astronomers - passed within 17,200 miles from Earth on February 15, 2013. On closest approach at about 1:25 p.m. CST on February 15, although it was within the orbit of the <a href="/earth/moons_and_rings.html&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/h/neptune/=/earth/climate/=/earth/climate/cli_greengas.html">Moon</a> and even geosynchronous <a href="/space_missions/satellites.html&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/h/neptune/=/earth/climate/=/earth/climate/cli_greengas.html">satellites</a>, it didn't strike Earth! Find out more from <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/asteroids/news/asteroid20130201315144.html">NASA</a>! Fragments of a meteorite hit Chelyabinsk, Russia on 2/15/2013 <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/15/us-russia-meteorite-idUSBRE91E05Z20130215">injuring over 500</a>. Learn about <a href="http://www.windows2universe.org/our_solar_system/meteors/meteors.html">meteors and meteorites</a>.<p><small><em>NASA/JPL-CalTech</em></small></p>The <a href="http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/Atmosphere/tornado/fujita.html">EF-5</a> <a href="http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/Atmosphere/tornado.html">tornado</a> that hit El Reno, Oklahoma on May 31st, 2013 was the widest ever recorded in the US, according to the National Weather Service in Norman Oklahoma. The tornado, which remained on the ground for 40 minutes and reached 2.6 miles across (4.2 km), took the lives of 18 people including storm chasers Tim Samaras, Paul Samaras and Carl Young.<p><small><em>Image courtesy of National Weather Service, Norman Oklahoma</em></small></p>Stars don't last forever. Occasionally, a star bigger than our Sun will end its life in a huge explosion, called a <a href="/the_universe/supernova.html&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/h/neptune/=/earth/climate/=/earth/climate/cli_greengas.html">supernova</a>. The center of the star collapses in less than a second, blowing away the outer layers of the star. There are many beautiful images of supernova remnants, the expanding shell of gas made up of the outer layers of the original star. This image is the Vela Supernova Remnant.<p><small><em>Image courtesy of the Anglo-Australian Observatory/Royal Observatory Edinburgh</em></small></p>As temperatures rise and soil moisture decreases, plants are stressed, which can lead to <a href="/earth/climate/crops_withering.html&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/h/neptune/=/earth/climate/=/earth/climate/cli_greengas.html">crop withering</a>. <a href="/teacher_resources/online_courses/health/events_health.html&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/h/neptune/=/earth/climate/=/earth/climate/cli_greengas.html">Droughts</a> accompanied by increased temperatures can lead to famine, social and political disruptions. Scientists are helping with early identification of drought that might trigger food shortages. Watch the NBC Learn video - <a href="/earth/changing_planet/withering_crops_intro.html&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/h/neptune/=/earth/climate/=/earth/climate/cli_greengas.html">Changing Planet: Withering Crops</a> to find out more.<p><small><em>Image taken by Tomas Castelazo, Creative Commons <a href=&quot;http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en&quot;>Attribution 3.0 Unported</a> license.</em></small></p><p>You don't normally see <a href="/space_weather/space_weather.html&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/h/neptune/=/earth/climate/=/earth/climate/cli_greengas.html">space weather</a> forecasted on the evening news, but it does impact life on <a href="/earth/earth.html&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/h/neptune/=/earth/climate/=/earth/climate/cli_greengas.html">Earth</a> in many ways. What are the threats posed from all of these natural disasters and how can we work to mitigate those threats beforehand? </p> <p>Check out the materials about natural disasters in <a href="/earth/natural_hazards/when_nature_strikes.html&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/h/neptune/=/earth/climate/=/earth/climate/cli_greengas.html">NBC Learn Videos</a>, and their earth system science connections built up by the related secondary classroom activities.</p><p><small><em>NBC Learn</em></small></p>Scientists are concerned that melting Arctic sea ice will increase the amount of fresh water in the <a href="/earth/polar/arctic_currents.html&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/h/neptune/=/earth/climate/=/earth/climate/cli_greengas.html">Beaufort Gyre</a>, which could spill out into the Atlantic and cause major climate shifts in North America and Western Europe. Watch the <a href="/earth/changing_planet/freshwater_arctic.html&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/h/neptune/=/earth/climate/=/earth/climate/cli_greengas.html">Changing Planet: Fresh Water in the Arctic video</a>.<p><small><em> Courtesy of Jack Cook, WHOI (<a href="http://www.whoi.edu">Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute</a>)</em></small></p>


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