Earth & Space Weather

Aurigid meteor shower peaks before dawn September 1

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Earthsky.org, 8/31/13, Deborah Byrd

Meteors are also called shooting stars. But meteors in annual showers, like the Aurigids, are bits of debris left behind in the orbits of comets. Image via NASA.

Meteors are also called shooting stars. But meteors in annual showers, like the Aurigids, are bits of debris left behind in the orbits of comets. Image via NASA.

The Aurigid meteor shower will be worth watching in 2013, particularly on the morning of September 1. The Aurigids should already be flying, with Earth having entered the meteor stream today (August 31), but the peak should be Sunday morning September 1, and North America appears to be well placed for the peak. From a rural site in North America, you might expect to see about 14-20 meteors in the last hour before dawn on Sunday, September 1. You might even see some meteors this evening, perhaps 5 an hour, according to the AMS. If you live elsewhere in the Northern Hemisphere, try watching in the hour before dawn September 1, but expect to see fewer meteors per hour.

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50 kg meteor explodes and illuminates sky over southeastern USA

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The Watchers-8/30/13, Adonai

 

A meteor with estimated mass of over 50 kg exploded over Tennessee, USA, around 07:27 UTC on August 28, 2013 (02:27 local time). Head of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office, Bill Cook, said the fireball reached a peak magnitude of -13. It was brighter than a full moon, and casted shadows on the ground. This indicated that the meteor had a mass of over 50 kg (110 lbs) and was about 40 cm (16 inches) in diameter.

All 6 NASA's all sky cameras in the southeast picked up a very bright fireball that may have produced meteorites. The cameras were completely saturated, necessitating a manual solution.

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China Earthquake: At Least 5 Dead

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Wunderground.com - 8/31/13

 

BEIJING -- An earthquake hit a mountainous area of southwestern China on Saturday, killing at least five people, destroying hundreds of residences and forcing thousands of people to relocate, the government and state media said.

The quake, which also injured 21 people, shook a wide area, including scenic Shangri-La and Deqen counties in Yunnan province, and Derong county in Sichuan province, just to the north.

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~ Space Weather Update~ Incoming CME, Upgraded Fireball

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INCOMING CME: A coronal mass ejection (CME, movie) is expected to hit Earth's magnetic field on Sept. 1st, sparking minor to moderate geomagnetic storms around the poles. The CME was propelled toward Earth by a C8-class flare from sunspot AR1836 on August 30th. High-latitude sky watchers, be alert for auroras! Aurora alerts: text, voice.

MAJOR FIREBALL EVENT, UPGRADED (AGAIN): NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office has upgraded its estimates of a major fireball that exploded over the southeastern USA around 2:30 AM on August 28th. Lead researcher Bill Cooke says "the fireball reached a peak apparent magnitude of -16, about 20 times brighter than a Full Moon, and cast shadows on the ground. This indicates that the meteoroid had a mass of more than 110 kg (240 lbs) and was up to a meter in diameter. It hit the top of Earth's atmosphere traveling 25 km/s (56,000 mph)." Watch the movie, then read more about the fireball below:

Volcanoes Today, 31 Aug 2013: Veniaminof

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Submitted by Magikalspirit on

volcanodiscovery Aug 31. 2013

Ash plume rising from Veniaminof earlier today (Perryville webcam, FAA)

Veniaminof (Alaska Peninsula, USA): A strong eruptive phase (paroxysm) with lava fountains and associated ash emissions reaching 15-20,000 ft (4.5-6 km) altitude occurred yesterday.
This episode of activity, accompanied by elevated levels of continuous tremor, has so far been the strongest since the start of the eruption on 10 June.

At present, activity has decreased again, but it is possible that similar or even stronger eruptive episodes continue to occur in the near future.

Read More: http://www.volcanodiscovery.com/volcanoes/today.html

73: Ash plume eruption reported at Dukono volcano (Halmahera Island, Indonesia)

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theextinctionprotocol- August 31, 2013

August 31, 2013 – INDONEISIA - VAAC Darwin reported an ash plume from the volcano at 8,000 ft (2.4 km) altitude yesterday morning. This might have originated from a larger than usual explosion. The rarely visited volcano is one of Indonesia’s almost permanently active volcanoes and often has strombolian to vulcanian activity. Dukono is a volcano located at the northernmost corner of Halmahera Island. It has a broad profile and is capped by compound craters. Dukono is an active volcano. During the major eruption in 1550, a lava flow filled in the strait between Halmahera and the north flank cone of Mount Mamuya. It was an eruption of scale 3 on VEI. Deaths were reported but the figure is unknown. Smaller eruptions occurred in 1719, 1868, and 1901. Since 1933, Dukono has been erupting continuously until the present. The volcano last erupted in 2012.

Read More: http://theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com/

Snow Blanketing South America Kills 250,000 Alpacas, at Least 5 People Dead

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Natureworldnews.com -8/29/13, James A. Foley

 

A man clears snow on La Cumbre, some 30 km (18.6 miles) near La Paz, August 28, 2013. Unusually heavy snowfall has been reported on the highlands in Bolivia, according to local media

Approximately 250,000 alpacas have died as a result of the worst snowfall Peru has seen in a decade, and the unexpectedly intense blast of winter weather has claimed livestock and human life in other parts of South America as well.

A cold weather front from the Antarctic began to spread across South America earlier this week, with some regions devastated by the snowfall, and others reveling in it. Heavy snow fell upon a large swath of South America, from Peru and Bolivia in the northwest to Paraguay and Brazil in the southeast.

~ Space Weather Update~ Chance for M Class~ Spy Satellite?~ Fireball

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Submitted by Lia on

WEEKEND AURORA WATCH: NOAA forecasters estimate a 60% chance of polar geomagnetic storms this weekend when a solar wind stream is expected to hit Earth's magnetic field. High-latitude sky watchers, especially those located around the darkening Arctic Circle, should be alert for auroras. Solar flare alerts: text, voice.

MAJOR FIREBALL EVENT, UPGRADED: NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office has upgraded its estimates of a major fireball that exploded over the southeastern USA around 2:30 AM on August 28th. Lead researcher Bill Cooke says "the fireball reached a peak magnitude of -13, brighter than a Full Moon, and cast shadows on the ground. This indicates that the meteoroid had a mass of over 50 kg (110 lbs) and was about 40 cm (16 inches) in diameter. It hit the top of Earth's atmosphere traveling 23.7 km/s (53,000 mph)." Watch the movie, then read more about the fireball below:

Yosemite Wildfire Update: Drone Now Part of California Fire Battle

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Wunderground.com - 8-29-13, Brian Skoloff and Scott Sonner

 

GROVELAND, Calif. -- As crews advanced against a giant wildfire around Yosemite National Park, fire commanders said they would maintain use of a Predator drone to give them early views of any new flare-ups across in the remote and rugged landscape.

The Rim Fire started Aug. 17 and quickly exploded in size, becoming one of the 10 largest California wildfires on record. Its progression slowed earlier this week when it moved from parts of the forest with thick underbrush that had not burned in nearly a century to areas that had seen fire in the past two decades.

But it will burn for months, possibly until California's dry season ends this fall.

"My prediction is it will burn until we see rain," said Hugh Safford, a regional ecologist with the U.S. Forest Service.

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