Disaster officials in Papua New Guinea's West New Britain Province are on alert as one of PNG's highest active volcano shows signs of an eruption. Mount Ulawun volcano in the Kimbe region has been emitting vapour over the last few weeks. Seismologist, Ima Itikarai says there's a strong possibility of an eruption and urged disaster officials to put contingency plans in place. There are up to 10,000 residents at the foot of Mount Ulawun volcano.
Listen: Windows Media
Speaker: Ima Itikarai, Seismologist with PNG's Rabaul Volcanological Observatory
Presenter: Firmin Nanol
Earth Changes
Sunspots come and go, but recently they have mostly gone. For centuries, astronomers have recorded when these dark blemishes on the solar surface emerge, only for them to fade away again after a few days, weeks or months. Thanks to their efforts, we know that sunspot numbers ebb and flow in cycles lasting about 11 years.
But for the past two years, the sunspots have mostly been missing. Their absence, the most prolonged for nearly a hundred years, has taken even seasoned sun watchers by surprise. "This is solar behaviour we haven't seen in living memory," says David Hathaway, a physicist at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
The sun is under scrutiny as never before thanks to an armada of space telescopes. The results they beam back are portraying our nearest star, and its influence on Earth, in a new light. Sunspots and other clues indicate that the sun's magnetic activity is diminishing, and that the sun may even be shrinking. Together the results hint that something profound is happening inside the sun. The big question is what?
But for the past two years, the sunspots have mostly been missing. Their absence, the most prolonged for nearly a hundred years, has taken even seasoned sun watchers by surprise. "This is solar behaviour we haven't seen in living memory," says David Hathaway, a physicist at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
The sun is under scrutiny as never before thanks to an armada of space telescopes. The results they beam back are portraying our nearest star, and its influence on Earth, in a new light. Sunspots and other clues indicate that the sun's magnetic activity is diminishing, and that the sun may even be shrinking. Together the results hint that something profound is happening inside the sun. The big question is what?
It is midnight on 22 September 2012 and the skies above Manhattan are filled with a flickering curtain of colourful light. Few New Yorkers have seen the aurora this far south but their fascination is short-lived. Within a few seconds, electric bulbs dim and flicker, then become unusually bright for a fleeting moment. Then all the lights in the state go out. Within 90 seconds, the entire eastern half of the US is without power.
A year later and millions of Americans are dead and the nation's infrastructure lies in tatters. The World Bank declares America a developing nation. Europe, Scandinavia, China and Japan are also struggling to recover from the same fateful event - a violent storm, 150 million kilometres away on the surface of the sun.
A year later and millions of Americans are dead and the nation's infrastructure lies in tatters. The World Bank declares America a developing nation. Europe, Scandinavia, China and Japan are also struggling to recover from the same fateful event - a violent storm, 150 million kilometres away on the surface of the sun.
© C. Enquirer
Giant Jesus of Monroe was disintegrated after being struck by lightning Monday Night.
Giant Jesus of Monroe was disintegrated after being struck by lightning Monday Night.
The "King of Kings" statue had become a nationally-known landmark, the most well known landmark in southwest Ohio. It measured at 62 feet high and 40 feet wide and reportedly cost the Solid Rock Church of Monroe, Ohio $250,000 to construct.
When crews arrived, Monroe Fire Chief Mark Neu said the statue was fully engulfed and the fire had spread to the attic area of the church's adjacent amphitheater. There were no injuries, said Neu, who spoke just before 2:30 a.m. to media at the scene. It was a "hot fire," he said, which made it more difficult to battle, but it was extinguished within about an hour.
© Alan Sealls
As far back as the 1940s, scientists have wondered about the causes of these clouds with gaps seemingly made by a giant hole punch.
As far back as the 1940s, scientists have wondered about the causes of these clouds with gaps seemingly made by a giant hole punch.
Through this seeding process, they leave behind odd-shaped holes or channels in the clouds, which have long fascinated the public.
The key ingredient for developing these holes in the clouds: water droplets at subfreezing temperatures, below about 5 degrees Fahrenheit (-15 degrees Celsius). As air is cooled behind aircraft propellers or over jet wings, the water droplets freeze and drop toward Earth.
"Any time aircraft fly through these specific conditions, they are altering the clouds in a way that can result in enhanced precipitation nearby," says Andrew Heymsfield, a scientist with the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and lead author of a new study into the phenomenon.
"Just by flying an airplane through these clouds, you could produce as much precipitation as with seeding materials along the same path in the cloud."
Precipitation from planes may be particularly common in regions such as the Pacific Northwest and western Europe because of the frequent occurrence of cloud layers with supercooled droplets, Heymsfield says.
© USGS
Tuesday, June 15, 2010 at 04:26:58 UTC
Monday, June 14, 2010 at 09:26:58 PM at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location:
32.698°N, 115.924°W
Depth:
6.9 km (4.3 miles)
Region:
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Distances:
8 km (5 miles) SE (124°) from Ocotillo, CA
24 km (15 miles) WSW (244°) from Seeley, CA
26 km (16 miles) ENE (70°) from Jacumba Hot Springs, CA
36 km (22 miles) WSW (254°) from El Centro, CA
104 km (65 miles) E (79°) from Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
Britain could face widespread power blackouts and be left without critical communication signals for long periods of time, after the earth is hit by a once-in-a-generation "space storm", Nasa has warned.
National power grids could overheat and air travel severely disrupted while electronic items, navigation devices and major satellites could stop working after the Sun reaches its maximum power in a few years.
Senior space agency scientists believe the Earth will be hit with unprecedented levels of magnetic energy from solar flares after the Sun wakes "from a deep slumber" sometime around 2013.
In a new warning, Nasa said the super storm would hit like "a bolt of lightning" and could cause catastrophic consequences for the world's health, emergency services and national security unless precautions are taken.
Diane Sawyer Talks With the Man Behind the Expanding "Boycott BP" Facebook
We can react positively to what is the largest case of cruelty to animals in US history - if it changes our behaviour as consumers
BP has certainly shone an international spotlight on British business, but no one is applauding. In the US, it has more than the loss of human life, livelihoods and tourism to answer for. And so do the government inspectors who allowed the corporation to put profit before safety.
If the criminal investigation of BP and those who signed off on the drill-site inspection sheets and safety assurances shows wilful fraud and deception, dereliction of duty, bribes or who knows what else, there is one additional set of criminal charges that should be added to the list: cruelty to animals. For this is the largest case of cruelty to animals in US history.
There is no shortage of photographs of the animals that have died and are still dying - slowly, painfully, drenched in oil. It is hard for anyone to see the gulls and pelicans, blinking up through a thick coat of muck that prevents them from flying, eating, taking a drink of water or escaping the burning heat along the Gulf coast. It is even too much to come across video that shows a huge rubber-gloved hand gently plucking a tiny crab out of a puddle of black glop. Only the outline of body tells you what it is, although its struggles tell you it is still alive. For the moment.
BP has certainly shone an international spotlight on British business, but no one is applauding. In the US, it has more than the loss of human life, livelihoods and tourism to answer for. And so do the government inspectors who allowed the corporation to put profit before safety.
If the criminal investigation of BP and those who signed off on the drill-site inspection sheets and safety assurances shows wilful fraud and deception, dereliction of duty, bribes or who knows what else, there is one additional set of criminal charges that should be added to the list: cruelty to animals. For this is the largest case of cruelty to animals in US history.
There is no shortage of photographs of the animals that have died and are still dying - slowly, painfully, drenched in oil. It is hard for anyone to see the gulls and pelicans, blinking up through a thick coat of muck that prevents them from flying, eating, taking a drink of water or escaping the burning heat along the Gulf coast. It is even too much to come across video that shows a huge rubber-gloved hand gently plucking a tiny crab out of a puddle of black glop. Only the outline of body tells you what it is, although its struggles tell you it is still alive. For the moment.
© Unknown
CNN meteorologist Jacqui Jeras said the damage Monday morning was caused by "backbuilding thunderstorms," a series of heavy rain cores without intermittent periods of let-up. After an early afternoon respite, CNN meteorologist Sean Morris said, Oklahoma City is again under a severe thunderstorm watch, as more storms head toward the rain-soaked metropolitan area. However, Morris said the newer storms are aiming south and east of the areas deluged the most Monday morning.
The National Weather Service said almost 10 inches of rain fell between 2 and 11 a.m. A flash flood watch was extended across central Oklahoma through 7 a.m. CT Tuesday.
According to the National Weather Service, an average of 1 to 2 more inches of rain was likely across the region through Monday night, with locally higher amounts.
Comment: However... see this:
What's wrong with the sun?