Scientists are concerned that melting Arctic sea ice will increase the amount of fresh water in the <a href="/earth/polar/arctic_currents.html&edu=elem&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/vocs.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&edu=elem&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/vocs.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>Lunar eclipses are special events that only occur when certain conditions are met. First of all, the Moon must be in <a href="/the_universe/uts/moon3.html&edu=elem&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/vocs.html">full phase</a>. Secondly, the <a href="/sun/sun.html&edu=elem&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/vocs.html">Sun</a>, <a href="/earth/earth.html&edu=elem&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/vocs.html">Earth</a> and <a href="/earth/moons_and_rings.html&edu=elem&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/vocs.html">Moon</a> must be in a perfectly straight line. If both of these are met, then the Earth's shadow can block the Sun's light from hitting the Moon. The reddish glow of the Moon is caused by light from the Earth's limb scattering toward the Moon, which is reflected back to us from the Moon's surface.<p><small><em>Image credit - Doug Murray, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida</em></small></p>This dramatic view of Jupiter's <a href="/jupiter/atmosphere/J_clouds_GRS.html&edu=elem&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/vocs.html">Great Red Spot</a> and its surroundings was obtained by <a href="/space_missions/voyager.html&edu=elem&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/vocs.html">Voyager 1</a> on Feb. 25, 1979, when the spacecraft was 5.7 million miles (9.2 million kilometers) from Jupiter. Cloud details as small as 100 miles (160 kilometers) across can be seen here. The colorful, wavy cloud pattern to the left of the Red Spot is a region of extraordinarily complex end variable wave motion.<p><small><em>Image courtesy of NASA</em></small></p>According to a Greek legend, the sea god Poseidon placed the figure of <a href="/the_universe/Constellations/circumpolar/cassiopeia.html&edu=elem&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/vocs.html">Cassiopeia</a> among the stars. It is said that Cassiopeia has a ridiculous upside-down position to punish her for having been pretentious.<p><small><em>Image courtesy of 1995 Visual Language (c). All rights reserved.</em></small></p>As temperatures rise and soil moisture decreases, plants are stressed, which can lead to <a href="/earth/climate/crops_withering.html&edu=elem&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/vocs.html">crop withering</a>. <a href="/teacher_resources/online_courses/health/events_health.html&edu=elem&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/vocs.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&edu=elem&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/vocs.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>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>


Attention Educator Member Teachers! Go to our special offers page for information about attractive upcoming professional development events next year. Not an Educator Member? Join Today!
Check out resources from our Affiliates!

Global locations of visitors using this page right now

Welcome to Windows to the Universe - your portal to discovery! Explore the wealth of information available here to learn about the Earth and Space sciences and related topics in the humanities including mythology, art, poetry, and more.

Our mobile website version is available now on your phone's web browser and give us feedback.

NEW Subscription Opportunities for Educators and their Students! - Classroom, School, and District Subscription Options.

Windows to the Universe Professional Development - On-site, in your school - find out more about this opportunity here. Information about our upcoming workshops and events is available on our Teacher Resources/Workshops page.

Podcasts from the National Science Foundation

Geologists at Harvard University found evidence that sea ice extended to the equator up to 716.5 million years ago. Listen to this and other podcasts ...Read more
Brought to you by NSF

Clouds in Art

Landscape painters have been representing clouds in their art for centuries. Different artists with different styles have painted clouds differently. Check out the Clouds in Art Interactive ...Read more
Brought to you by CMMAP

Physics of Space Weather

The science of physics plays a key role in many space weather phenomena. Charged particles, magnetic fields, forces and motion, and the electromagnetic spectrum are all part of space weather ...Read more
Brought to you by CISM

Genetics Makes Us Who We Are

Some characteristics, or traits, result from interactions with the environment, others are determined from the genetic material in your chromosomes ...Read more

Mythology

For thousands of years people have told stories that connect their cultures with objects in the sky and in the natural world around us, creating tales of thunder gods and Moon goddesses ...Read more

Historical Events

Full Earth and Space Science    History Calendar (Members only)

Teacher Opportunities

Full Teacher Events Calendar (Educator Members only)

Buried Treasure!

The Skywatchers of the Americas

There were people living in North and South America before any explorers like Christopher Columbus came...Read more


Windows to the Universe, a project of the National Earth Science Teachers Association, is sponsored in part is sponsored in part through grants from federal agencies (NASA and NOAA), and partnerships with affiliated organizations, including the American Geophysical Union, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Earth System Information Partnership, the American Meteorological Society, the National Center for Science Education, and TERC. The American Geophysical Union and the American Geosciences Institute are Windows to the Universe Founding Partners. NESTA welcomes new Institutional Affiliates in support of our ongoing programs, as well as collaborations on new projects. Contact NESTA for more information. NASA ESIP NCSE HHMI AGU AGI AMS NOAA