Earth & Space Weather

Volcano Shiveluch awakens in Russia's Far East

Magikalspirit's picture

Submitted by Magikalspirit on

voiceofrussia-Aug 5,2013

вулкан Шивелуч Камчатка

Russia's northernmost active volcano churned out ash to a height of up to five kilometers (three miles) in the country's Far East, local Emergencies Ministry’s department reported on Monday. The 3,283-meter Shiveluch volcano increased activity in May 2009 and has been periodically spewing ash from three to ten kilometers.

“The cloud of ash moved in the eastern direction from the volcano having bypassed residential areas at the distance of some 50 kilometers,” the department said in a statement.

Although the current eruption poses no immediate threat to nearby settlements, the ensuing ash fallouts could be hazardous to health and the environment.

Henriette May Strengthen Into a Hurricane in the Pacific

Magikalspirit's picture

Submitted by Magikalspirit on

Courtney Spamer-accuweather-Aug 5 2013

Behind Tropical Depression Gil, a new system strengthened to become Tropical Storm Henriette on Sunday.

For the time being, Henriette is far away from any land, just as Gil was when it formed last week.

The new tropical storm developed from Tropical Depression 8-E that formed in the eastern Pacific early Saturday morning.

While the remnants of Gil are expected to track to the south of Hawaii over the next several days, Tropical Storm Henriette likely will take a different path.

Henriette appears like it will take a more northerly path, likely strengthening into a hurricane by Tuesday. As it continues to track to the west-northwest through late week, Henriette will encounter cooler water and weaken.

The storm is projected to reach near Hawaii by late in the weekend, perhaps enhancing showers and stirring higher surf.

Solar wind stream buffeting Earth's magnetic field

OdiStar's picture

Submitted by OdiStar on

The Watchers - by Adonai - August 5, 2013

During last 24 hours solar wind stream buffeted Earth's magnetic field causing geomagnetic storms around the poles. Geomagnetic conditions were short lived reaching G1 - Minor geomagnetic storm levels (Kp=5). At those levels weak power grid fluctuations can occur, minor impact on satellite operations is possible, migratory animals are affected at this and higher levels and aurora is commonly visible at high latitudes.

2 Aug 2013 Meteor Activity Outlook for August 3-9, 2013

Desert Gypsy's picture

Submitted by Desert Gypsy on

amsmeteor.org, 8/4/13, Robert Lumsford

Radiant positions at 4am LDT

Radiant positions at 4am LDT

Meteor activity kicks into high gear in August as seen from the northern hemisphere. The main reason for all this activity is the Perseid shower that peaks on August 12. This shower is active most of the month and remains above the level of the sporadic background for a week centered on August 12. The sporadic activity is also near maximum as seen from the northern hemisphere and is now more than double the rates from just three months ago. As seen from south of the equator, meteor rates are still decent but falling rapidly. The sporadic rates continue their downward slide and the Perseid radiant does not rise high into the sky as seen in the southern hemisphere so rates from this shower are greatly reduced when compared to the northern hemisphere.

Moon and Mercury close to horizon at dawn August 5

Desert Gypsy's picture

Submitted by Desert Gypsy on

Earthsky.org, 8/4/13 -Bruce McClure

Our sky chart shows the eastern sky for about 45 minutes before sunrise at North American mid-northern latitudes (Monday, August 5). Given an unobstructed horizon, clear sky – and possibly binoculars – you just might catch a pale, whisker-thin waning crescent moon in the glow of morning twilight.

At mid-northern latitudes in Europe and Asia, the waning crescent moon shines closer to the planet Mercury, which rises about 90 to 75 minutes before the sun. All other things being equal, the lunar crescent should be easier to spot from the Old World. From Europe and Asia, the thin crescent will be slightly wider than it appears in North America, and moreover, it will rise sooner before sunrise.

Read More

Meteor strikes, punches hole 2 meters deep - China

Desert Gypsy's picture

Submitted by Desert Gypsy on

The Watchers, 8/1/13, Adonai

A meteor has reportedly crashed at a dump site in a village of northwest China around 02:00 local time on Thursday, August 1, 2013. Meteorite impact left a 3 meter wide and 2 meter deep crater. 

Authorities reported no casualties. Search for meteorite fragments is ongoing.

Read More

Perseid fireballs are already arriving!

Desert Gypsy's picture

Submitted by Desert Gypsy on

Earthsky.org, 8/3/13

Spaceweather.com explained ths diagram:

Green lines illustrate the paths of Perseid meteoroids, traveling in space. All six intersect Earth (the blue dot). The orbit of Comet Swift-Tuttle is the purple line. An inset shows one of the fireballs shining almost as brightly as the moon.

What are Perseid fireballs? New research by NASA scientists has revealed them. Using a network of meteor cameras distributed across the southern USA, Cooke’s team has been tracking fireball activity since 2008, and they have built up a database of hundreds of events to analyze. The data point to the Perseids as the ‘fireball champion’ of annual meteor showers.

Pages

Subscribe to RSS - Earth & Space Weather