Huge Asteroid Numbers Raise Stakes of Impact Threat
Big sunspot AR1890 is crackling with strong flares. The latest, which peaked on Nov. 8th at 04:32 UT, registered M8 on the Richter Scale of Flares. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded a flash of extreme UV radiation from the almost-X flare:
The number of asteroids zooming close to Earth is far greater than previously believed, highlighting the need to ramp up efforts to find and track these potentially dangerous space rocks, experts say. A new analysis of the Russian meteor explosion that injured more than 1,000 people in the city of Chelyabinsk this past February estimates that similar impacts occur about seven times more often than previously thought.
Astronomers viewing our solar system’s asteroid belt with NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope have seen for the first time an asteroid with six comet-like tails of dust radiating from it like spokes on a wheel. Unlike all other known asteroids, which appear simply as tiny points of light, this asteroid, designated P/2013 P5, resembles a rotating lawn sprinkler. Astronomers are puzzled over the asteroid’s unusual appearance.
Officials tell news that a 2.8 magnitude Missouri earthquake began just after 7:14 PM today. The quake however had a nominal depth. USGS indicates to news that the quake was only four miles below ground level. As a result the quake could be felt across the immediate region.
Super Typhoon Haiyan
Haiyan had winds of 190 – 195 mph at landfall, making it the strongest tropical cyclone on record to make landfall in world history.
Monster typhoon Haiyan roars into Philippines
Meteorologists say that if initial estimates based on satellite images are borne out, it could be the most powerful storm ever to make landfall. The storm has forced millions in storm-prone areas to seek shelter across 20 provinces, officials say. The region was already struggling to recover from a powerful earthquake last month. The authorities have warned that more than 12 million people are at risk from the category-five storm, including in Cebu, the country’s second largest city with a population of 2.5m.
Super Typhoon Haiyan, Strongest Tropical Cyclone On Record, Destroys Buildings And Homes, Causes Landslides, Kills At Least 3
Typhoon Haiyan, known as Yolanda in the Philippines, has claimed at least three lives, damaged buildings, washed away homes and caused landslides, after it made landfall on the islands of Leyte and Samar — about 600 miles southeast of Manila — with winds close to 315 kilometers (196 miles) an hour,