The Watchers - EARTH

Severe weather continues in contiguous US. An EF-4 tornado (winds 270 - 320 km/h, Enhanced Fujita scale 0 - 5) nearly 1600 meters wide touched down in Moore, Oklahoma, on May 20, 2013 causing devastating damage. Moore tornado is likely to be one of the five most damaging tornadoes in history. According to local police, entire neighborhoods were leveled. The tornado flattened homes and flinged cars through the air. At least two schools were crushed with children still in them. Authorities said many people remained trapped in crushed buildings. By latest reports at least 91 people were killed and as many as 30 elementary students unaccounted for. At least 145 people are being treated for injuries. The news

Earthquake swarm continues at Kamchatka peninsula. Strong M 6.0 earthquake occurred off coast of Kamchatka at 01:55:08 UTC on May 21, 2013. The epicenter was located in sea, 136 km (84 miles) ESE of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy, Russia at coordinates 52.505°N 160.470°E. USGS registered depth of 33.9 km while EMSC registered depth of 10 km. It was followed by little deeper M 4.9 seven minutes later. There was no tsunami warning issued. Global, regional and local view (Credit: EMSC) USGS shakemap Seismotectonics of the Kuril-Kamchatka Arc The Kuril-Kamchatka arc extends approximately 2,100 km from Hokkaido, Japan, along the Kuril Islands and the Pacific coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula to its intersection with the Aleutian arc near the Commander Islands,

A very strong and shallow earthquake M 6.8 struck off the coast of Aisen, Chile on May 20, 2013 at 09:49 UTC. Epicenter of the earthquake was located 597km (371mi) WSW of Puerto Quellon, Chile and 606km (377mi) WSW of Chonchi, Chile at coordinates 44.927°S 80.639°W. Depth of the earthquake is being reported shallow at 10 km by both USGS and EMSC. This report is based on preliminary data. GDACS reported this earthquake can have a low humanitarian impact based on the magnitude and the affected population and their vulnerability. There are no people living within 100 km of the earthquake. NOAA reported: No destructive widespread tsunami threat exists based on historical earthquake and tsunami data. However, earthquakes of this size sometimes

A moderate solar flare peaking at M1.7 was observed off the east limb around >Returning Sunspot 1731 located off the east limb produced moderate M1.7 solar flare at 05:25 UTC on May 20, 2013. Sunspot 1731 will begin to rotate back into view within the next 24 hours when it will get new sunspot number.  Space weather forecasters predicted geomagnetic storming conditions up to major G2 level, however, the Bz component of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) has been mostly pointed north, meaning that geomagnetic activity is being suppressed. Geomagnetic conditions are in normal background for now. The geomagnetic field is expected to be at quiet to major storm levels during May 20, quiet to unsettled levels on May 21 and quiet to

The second lunar eclipse of 2013 again occurs at the Moon's ascending node in Scorpius about 7° northwest of Antares (mv = +1.07). With a penumbral eclipse magnitude  of 0.0158, just 0.5 arc-minutes of the Moon's southern limb will pass into Earth's pale penumbral shadow; such a shallow eclipse is only of academic interest since it will be very difficult to detect. May 25, 2013 lunar eclipse chart.The position of the moon (and earth's shadow) are shown as viewed from center of earth (small parallel occurs from specific location on surface of the earth). The moon is drawn at maximum eclipse, and circles for every hour of motion. (Credit: Wikimedia) Penumbral Eclipse begins at 03:53:11 UTC on May 25, 2013 and ends at 04:26:56 UTC. Greatest eclipse

Our planet is surrounded by a wispy layer of gas that keeps us warm, allows the weather to happen and basically makes all of life on Earth possibile.Except that precious atmosphere of ours is leaking into outer space every second. Thankfully it is a rather slow leak, since for any object, weather it is a molecule of gas, a rocket or a cat, to break the tether of our planets gravity and escape, it has to hightail it out of here at a speed of 11 000 m/s. It takes the energy of a ton of TNT to boost a person to that speed, and less energy for lighter objects ( 1/10 out of that for a cat for example). Other than a large asteroid impact that can eject large amounts of atmosphere into space, the only gases that regularly escape Earths atmosphere are hydrogen and helium.There are

NOAA/SWPC reported passage of an interplanetary shock, recorded by ACE spacecraft. The CME-driven shock was first seen at 22:21 UTC on May 19, 2013, a bit later than forecasters had predicted. A Geomagnetic Sudden Impulse was recorded at 23:11 UTC. This signals the passage of anticipated CME past our planet. High-latitude auroras are possible in the hours ahead. Space weather forecasters expect G2 (Moderate) levels over the next 24 hours. Lastest Estimated Planetary K-index and GOES13 Proton flux plots (Credit: NOAA/SWPC) This CME was generated by M3.2 solar flare on May 17, 2013 in the magnetic canopy of Active Region 1748. On May 15, 2013 Sunspot 1748 produced X1.2 solar flare which caused minor G1 geomagnetic storm on May 18,

A swarm of strong earthquakes is currently shaking Kamchatka Peninsula, Russian Far East. The strongest in series was M 5.9 (USGS), M 6.0 (EMSC), recorded at 20:44 UTC on May 19, 2013. Data for depth of this earthquake is still uncertain. USGS measured 16.5 km whereas EMSC is reporting 10 km.  First earthquake in the region today was reported at 0:39 UTC when a 74 km deep, magnitude 4.9, earthquake struck. At 1:29 UTC a 4.8 magnitude earthquake struck at depth of 84 km. By 18:00 UTC four more M4+ earthquakes were reported. At 19:44 M 5.1 struck at depth of 40 km. In following minutes, M 4.7 and M 4.9 struck at depth of approximately 55 km. Magnitude 5.9 earthquake, the strongest so far, struck at 20:44 UTC and was followed by M 4.6, M 5.1, M 4.9, M 5.0 and M 5.1 in next 60

Asteroid 1998 QE2 will fly past Earth at end of May at a distance of 5.8 million kilometers, or about 15 times the distance between Earth and the moon. The asteroid's size is estimated to be about 2.7 kilometers. It will make its closest approach on May 31, 2013 at 20:59 UTC. This will be the closest it gets to Earth for at least the next two centuries. It has a cycle of about 15 years and 46 days. Asteroid 1998 QE2 seen by Q62 iTelescope  Observatory (Credit: Guido&Howes/Remanzacco Observatory) Asteroid 1998 QE2 was discovered on August 19, 1998, by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Near Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) program near Socorro, New Mexico. Its name is given by Minor Planet Center, which gives every newly discovered

Giant snails appear to be invading Texas, according to new reports, and some health experts worry that the unusual creatures might begin spreading a disease that could be deadly to humans. As reported by NBC News, a Houston woman recently discovered what is believed to be the first known instance of a particular type of snail species in Texas, the Giant African land snail, which has ignited a firestorm of localized panic over the potential spread of meningitis. The Austin-based Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center was the first to hear about the sighting after a woman living in Houston's Briar Forest neighborhood spotted a snail roughly the size of loaf of bread slithering through her backyard garden. The woman snapped a photo of the snail and sent it to authorities, who

32,4 million people were forced to flee their homes last year due to natural disasters such as floods, storms and earthquakes, according to a report released by Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre on May 13, 2013. According to the report, 98% of those uprooted were displaced by climate- and weather-related events. Climate change is believed to play an increasingly significant role in global disasters. 2012 Special Report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change stated that, "disasters associated with climate extremes influence population mobility and relocation, affecting host and origin communities." This map shows internal displacement worldwide in 2012 by state and number of displaced people. CLICK ON IMAGE FOR LARGER VIEW (Credit:

A strong earthquake M 6.1 struck near east coast of Honshu, Japan on May 18, 2013 at 05:48 UTC. Epicenter of the earthquake was located 50 km (31mi) NE of Namie, Japan and 61 km (38mi) ESE of Watari, Japan at coordinates 37.761°N 141.454°E. USGS recorded depth of the earthquake at 41.5 km (25.8 mi) whereas EMSC reported depth at 60 km and same magnitude as USGS. JMA is reporting M 5.9 earthquake at depth of 50 km. According to GDACS, this earthquake can have a low humanitarian impact based on the magnitude and the affected population and their vulnerability. There are about 3 010 000 people living within 100 km radius of the earthquake. Earthquake intensity map. Credits: USGS Tectonic summary by USGS Seismotectonics of

G1 (Minor) Geomagnetic Storm conditions are now occurring due to the arrival of the CME of May 15, 2013. During G1 Geomagnetic Storm, weak power grid fluctuations can occur, minor impact on satellite operations is possible, aurora is commonly visible at high latitudes and migratory animals are affected at this and higher levels. Planetary K-index reached Kp=5 level. This series of CMEs related to AR 1748 had a source region within 30 degrees of the solar limb, which reduces their possibility of arrival to the Earth to around 30%. ALERT: Geomagnetic K-index of 5 Threshold Reached: 2013 May 18 0300 UTC Synoptic Period: 0300-0600 UTC Active Warning: Yes NOAA Scale: G1 - Minor SUMMARY: Geomagnetic Sudden Impulse Observed: 2013 May 18 0112

Alvin had strengthened to a Tropical Storm on May 15, 2013 and now has weakened and is considered a Post-Tropical Cyclone. With the excessive wind shear and cooler water, the storm has dissipated into just a weak low pressure. According to Tropical Weather Outlook by US National Hurricane Center, an area of low pressure associated with the remnants of Alvin is located about 800 miles southwest of Manzanillo, Mexico. The system continues to produce a large area of disorganized shower and thunderstorm activity. The system has a low 20% chance of becoming a tropical cyclone again during the next 48 hours as it moves west-northwestward around 10 mph. Strong upper-level westerly winds are expected to inhibit any significant development. Satellite

Tropical Cyclone Mahasen fully dissipated after weakening into tropical storm on May 16, 2013. Luckily, its impact was far less damaging than initially expected. Mahasen veered west of its predicted path after dumping heavy rains over bay of Bengal coastal areas.  Mahasen hit land with maximum wind speeds of about 100 km/h (62 mph) and quickly weakened. There was no major tidal surge due the low tide in time of Mahasen's landfall. However, many low-lying areas and islands were inundated by a surge during the storm. More than 49,000 thatched houses were destroyed. The cyclone spared major populated areas in Bangladesh, including Chittagong and the seaside resort of Cox's Bazar. By the time Mahasen hit Chittagong and Cox's Bazar, wind speeds

According to AVO (Alaska Volcano Observatory) Pavlof volcano continues to erupt. Lava fountaining at the summit has been observed and photographed, and a continuous ash, steam, and gas cloud generated by the activity extends downwind from the volcano for 50 to 100 km at an altitude of about 6 km (20,000 ft) above sea level. On the morning of Thursday, May 16, 2013 the cloud was carried to the southeast, AVO reports. Satellite images show persistent elevated surface temperatures at the summit and on the northwest flank, commensurate with the summit lava fountaining and resulting lava flow. AVO raised Volcano Alert Level from Advisory to Watch and Aviation Color Code from Yellow to Orange. Seismic activity remains elevated with nearly continuous tremor recorded on the seismic

European Space Agency (ESA) successfully launched its Proba-V satellite on May 7, 2013 aboard a Vega rocked. This new earth watching satellite was deployed into its Sun-synchronous near-polar orbit at 820 km altitude just 55 minutes after launch. According to ESA, the satellite is now in good health. The satellite’s vegetation imager was switched on Wednesday, May 15, 2013 in time to get a glimpse of France’s coast along the Bay of Biscay and the lush interior. The data were then sent down to ESA’s Redu centre in Belgium. Vital uses of Proba-V data include day-by-day tracking of extreme weather, alerting authorities to crop failures, monitoring inland water resources and tracing the steady spread of deserts and deforestation. Less than a

More and more data is piling up all the time about the importance of maintaining probiotic "good" bacteria in our bodies as we strive for vibrant, holistic health. Friendly bacteria provide incredible benefits to the entire body, not only in the arena of digestive health. Probiotic bacteria have the ability to keep harmful pathogenic, disease-causing bacteria from growing unchecked. Good probiotics also assist the body in assimilating nutrients and producing important enzymes for digestion. They help increase the bioavailability of vitamins, beneficial fatty acids, lactase and calcium. Additional benefits include the neutralization of toxins, the normalization of bowel movements, keeping cholesterol levels in check, countering allergies, preventing uninhibited yeast and

Moderate solar flare measuring M3.2 erupted from Region 1748 on May 17, 2013 peaking at 08:53 UTC. A type II and IV radio emissions were associated with the event. Type IV emissions occur in association with major eruptions on the Sun and are typically associated with strong coronal mass ejections and solar radiation storms. Additionally, a 10cm radio burst measuring 450 sfu was recorded. This can be indicative of significant radio noise in association with a solar flare. This noise is generally short-lived but can cause interference for sensitive receivers including radar, GPS, and satellite communications. This is second M-class solar flare from this region in last 12 hours. AR 1748 is classified with Beta-Gamma-Delta magnetic configuration. It is capable

A meteor with estimated weight of 40 kg, approximately 0.3 - 0.4 meters wide, and traveling at speed of 90 123 km/h hit the lunar surface in Mare Imbrium on March 17, 2013. The resulting explosion packed as much punch as 5 tons of TNT. "It exploded in a flash nearly 10 times as bright as anything we've ever seen before", said Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office. Anyone looking at the Moon at the moment of impact could have seen the explosion without a telescope. For about one second, the impact site was glowing like a 4th magnitude star. Ron Suggs, an analyst at the Marshall Space Flight Center, was the first to notice the impact in a digital video recorded by one of the monitoring program's 14-inch telescopes.