Get Ready for the 2013 Perseids

Skyandtelescope.com, 8/12/13,

A perennial favorite among skywatchers, the Perseid meteor shower makes its annual return on the nights of August 11-12 and 12-13.

Earth should go through the densest part of the stream for some hours on August 12th around 19^h Universal Time, which is 3 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. This means the shower's peak splits the difference between the early-morning hours of August 12th and 13th for anyone in North America or Europe. So the number you count on each of those mornings, even in ideal conditions (no light pollution and the radiant nearly overhead) might not match the International Meteor Organization's predicted peak of 100 per hour. But surprises can always happen.

Read More

Earth & Space Weather

Photos from friends: 2013 Perseid meteor shower

Earthsky.org, 8/12/13, Deborah Byrd

Mike Lewinski said this 2013 Perseid fireball was so bright that it illuminated the clouds. Notice the greenish color. Mike was at Embudo, New Mexico. Thanks for posting!

Mike Lewinski said this Perseid fireball was so bright that it illuminated the clouds. Notice the greenish color. Mike was at Embudo, New Mexico. Thanks for posting!

Tom Sisemore in Canehill, Arkansas captured this shot of a colorful Perseid on August 11, 2013. Thank you, Tom!

Giant Sinkhole Consumes Resort in Florida

Accuweather - by Jillian MacMath - August 12, 2013

Demolition experts watch as the home of Jeff Bush, 37, is destroyed Sunday, March 3, 2013, after a sinkhole opened up underneath it in Seffner, Fla. The 20-foot-wide opening of the sinkhole was almost covered by the house. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

A 60-foot-wide sinkhole formed under the Summer Bay Resort in Clermont, Fla., late Sunday night prompting the evacuation of its guests, according to CNN.

The sinkhole caused much of the building to collapse; however, no injuries were reported. An investigation is still underway.

Sinkholes can form anywhere that soluble rock is present underground, such as limestone, gypsum and salt. Both significant rainfall and drought can prompt the formation of sinkhole.

From Aug. 5 through Aug. 12, Orlando Executive Airport and Orlando International Airport, the closest observation sites to Clermont, have each recorded less than 1 inch of rainfall. Both average more than 2.80 inches in this period typically.

Typhoon Utor swamps Philippines, heads for southern China

thewashingtonpost.com - By Jason Samenow - August 12, 2013

Satellite view of Utor – around the time it reached peak “super typhoon” intensity (NOAA)

Earth & Space Weather

~ Space Weather Update~ Break in the Quiet M1 Class Flare

BREAK IN THE QUIET: Solar activity has been low for weeks. The emergence of sunspots AR1817 and AR1818 could break the quiet. Both pose a threat for M-class solar flares. AR1817 has already produced one almost-M class eruption:

The C8-category flare was recorded by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory on August 11th at 2158 UT. Whether it is a herald of bigger things to come remains to be seen. AR1817 is almost directly facing Earth, so any eruptions this week will probably be geoeffective. Solar flare alerts: text, voice.