Multiple tornadoes in northern Victoria, Australia, injured 20 people yesterday. Australia is (in my opinion) second only to the U.S. when it comes to massive thunderstorms and tornadoes, and because of that, some of their radar technology is up to par with ours.
The tornado was well-documented on YouTube, for example this couple driving, who were WAY too close (incredible video):
For charts and more information on this story please see Accuweather.com.
March 4, 2013 – SPACE – Bright Comet Pan-Starrs (C/2011 L4) is now inside the orbit of Mercury, brightening as it plunges toward the sun. Observers in the southern hemisphere report say they can see Pan-STARRS with the unaided eye in the evening sunset sky. Carl Gruber photographed the comet on March 2nd over the city lights of Melbourne, Australia: “Despite bad light and smog pollution, the comet’s nucleus was clearly visible to the naked eye as well as a small part of the tail,” says Gruber. Light curves show the comet is approaching 2nd magnitude, about as bright as the stars of the Big Dipper. Several important dates are approaching. On March 5th, Comet Pan-STARRS makes its closest approach to Earth (1.09 AU), followed on March 10th by its closest approach to the sun (0.3 AU). As Comet Pan-STARRS passes the sun, solar glare will make it difficult to see even as the nucleus vaporizes and brightens. By March 12th and 13th, the comet will reappear in the sunset skies of the northern hemisphere not far from the crescent Moon. –Space Weather
For more links and comments on this story follow this link.
Figure 1. Tropical Cyclone Rusty at 03:40 UTC on February 27, 2013 as seen by NASA's Terra satellite. At the time, Rusty was two hours from making landfall on the northwest Australian coast near Pardoo as a Category 1 storm with sustained 90 mph winds. Image credit: NASA.
After a decade-long drought, Aboriginal elders travel the length of Australia's Murray-Darling Basin performing the Ringbalin — a pilgrimage designed to "dance" the spirit back into the land and heal the rivers. And it appears to work.
