Earth & Space Weather

Typhoon Sanba headed for Okinawa, South Korea

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CNN - CNN Wire Staff, 9/15/12

Typhoon Bolaven struck Okinawa and South Korea last month.
Typhoon Bolaven struck Okinawa and South Korea last month.
 

(CNN) -- A typhoon slinging fierce winds moved toward the Japanese island of Okinawa on Saturday, where dozens of people were killed by a big storm last month.

Tropical cyclone Sanba had winds of 232 kilometers per hour (144 mph), said CNNI Weather Anchor Jenny Harrison. "One expects and assumes that people are beginning to already take serious precautions as to the arrival of this very strong typhoon," she said.

To read the rest of this story, visit CNN.com.

~Space Weather Update~ ASTEROID FLYBY:

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ASTEROID FLYBY: Today, an asteroid as wide as three football fields is flying past Earth. At closest approach, 2012 QG42 will be 2.8 million km (7.4 lunar distances) away, so there is no danger of a collision. Nevertheless, it is close enough for backyard astronomers to track using large amateur telescopes; the space rock is glowing like a 14th magnitude star. [movie] [3D orbit] [ephemeris]

 

ROCKET EXHAUST: The White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico conducted a test of the Patriot interceptor yesterday, producing iridescent rocket exhaust visible as far away as Phoenix AZ, Las Vegas NV, and Salt Lake City UT. David Blanchard photographed the display from Flagstaff, Arizona:

The test proceeded as follows: A Juno rocket was launched from Fort Wingate in Gallup, New Mexico. This served as the target for another missile, the Patriot Advanced Capability 3 interceptor, launched shortly thereafter from White Sands. A press release from White Sands confirmed the test and stated that "the
Juno performed as expected."

 

Close asteroid encounter tonight exposes potential hazard

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A newly discovered asteroid - called 2012 QG42 - approaching the Earth will reach its minimum distance from our planet tonight (Sept. 13-14). However, be assured there is no reason to panic, at least this time.

This relatively large 625 feet to 1,400 feet wide body will zip by no closer than about 7.5 times the distance to the moon (1.8 million miles).Officially, it has been designated a “potentially hazardous asteroid” (PHA) by the Minor Planet Center, applied to any asteroid (or comet) which may pose a threat (though this one does not).

During its passage 2012 QG42 will be opposite the sun from the Earth and therefore relatively bright, but not bright enough for viewing by the small telescopes typically used by amateur astronomers (like myself).

~Space Weather Update~ Pair of Coronal Holes, Missle Show, and Polar Lights

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MORNING MISSILE SHOW: This morning in Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada, early risers witnessed a plume of iridescent gas twisting in the dawn sky. It was the icy exhaust of a Juno rocket launched from Fort Wingate in Gallup, New Mexico. The Juno was a target for another missile, a Patriot interceptor, launched shortly thereafter. This military test was conducted by the White Sands Missile Range. Images: #1, #2, #3, #4

POLAR LIGHTS: In the Arctic, springtime ended months ago. Nevertheless, butterflies have been sighted. This one appeared last night over Grøtfjord, Norway:

Helge Mortensen took the picture on Sept. 12th. "The auroras were not a strong as some I've seen, but it was still nice to be outside and watch such a beautiful apparition," he says.

Indonesian volcano shakes, spews lava

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UPI - 9/10/12

 
Anak Krakatau is the small, brownish island in the center of the photograph. Credit: NASA Earth Observatory
 

HARGOPANCURAN, Indonesia, Sept. 10 (UPI) -- Ongoing activity by Indonesia's Mount Anak Krakatau has residents of nearby coastal areas concerned as the volcano spewed more lava, officials said.

On Monday the volcano in the Sunda Strait spewed hot lava and other volcanic material 2,000 feet above its peak, the Antara news agency reported.

To read the rest of this story, visit UPI.com.

Rotten smell reeks havoc across Southern California

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Los Angeles Times -  9/10/12

By Hector Becerra, Phil Willon and Andrew Blankstein

A massive fish die-off in the Salton Sea is the prime suspect in a rotten smell that swept the region, but experts can't recall a bad odor ever traveling so far.

When the rotten egg smell wafted into the Santa Clarita United Methodist Church in Saugus on Monday morning, Kathy Gray thought the church's sewer pipe had burst.

More than 70 miles to the east, steelworker Chris Tatum's nostrils got the punch in Riverside. He assumed a brush fire had just broken out. "It reeks," he said. "It smells like rotten mush."

To watch the video and read the rest of this story, visit LATimes.com.

Rains ravage Sindh, leaving up to 58 dead

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The Express Tribune

By Sarfaraz Memon, 9/11/12

Commuters wade through rainwater at Clock Tower Road during the downpour in Sukkur. PHOTO: PPI

SUKKUR:

At least 58 people, including women and children, were killed, and hundreds injured, in rain-related incidents throughout upper Sindh over the past 24 hours. An emergency has been declared in Jacobabad and Kandhkot, where the army has been called in to provide relief.

Leslie cleanup in Newfoundland kicks into gear

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CBC News - 9/12/12

Thousands of homeowners are clearing up debris left behind by Leslie, a hurricane-strength storm that had winds as high as 137 km/h. (CBC )

Newfoundland Power said about 15,000 customers on the Avalon Peninsula were without power early Wednesday morning. About 11,000 of them are in the St. John's area.

The utility planned to restore service to its feeder lines on Wednesday, said communications official Michelle Coughlan.

To read the rest of this story, visit CBC.ca.

Little Horse Thief Fire threatens Jackson, Wyoming

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Source: Exopermaculture.com, Ann Kreilkamp, 9/11/12.

Possible evacuation area as of one day ago. Fire approaching from southwest.

In any other year, this fire, which threatens a resort area visited by millions each summer, might have made the national news.

I remember 1988, when the gigantic Yellowstone fire blanketed the valley with a thick pall and no rain fell between April and October. That fire was heavily covered by national and international media.

But now, in this unprecedented era of global weirding, fire — and drought, and dead forests due to pine beetle infestation — is only one of the geophysical stresses we face.

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