Hurricane Gustav will hit New Orleans Monday morning

People are not taking this hurricane for granted. It is slow moving (which is not good , the slower it goes the more time it can stay around and pound any area/city). Now category 3 it could do much more damage then Katrina. Also it seems while it moves, the Republic gathering may be stalled until later.

http://news.aol.com/article/new-orleans-mayor-says-get-out-now/152235?icid=100214839x1208673938x1200502198

mars rover leaves crater

One of the rover needed to leave the crater it was in

http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/080829-opportunity-marscrater.html


mars rover 10 best discoveries
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/top10_rover_discovery.html

Ash plumes and more from the Alaskan Kasatoch volcano

Current beautiful sunset are partially due to the ash plumes and more from the Alaskan Kasatoch volcano. This mountain is spewing sulfur dioxide gas and volcanic ash clouds high in the air which is creating some interesting colorful sunsets. Take a look at these satellite images.
Also try observatories in Cascades, Hawaii, Long Valley, Yellowstone

http://www.avo.alaska.edu/activity/Kasatochi.php

more about Alaskan volcanoes
http://www.mms.gov/alaska/kids/shorts/Alaska's%20Volcanoes/alaska's%20volcanoes.htm
http://www.alaska.net/~logjam/volcanoes.html

Great Planet or mini planet debate rolls on

Great Planet Debate: Scientists Could Overturn Official Definition
Here you read up on past info on the controversy and some of the latest info
Information from the latest meeting we will here more I am sure
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/080805-st-planet-debate.html

Tornado puzzle: what actually may trigger the hook signature on Dopplers

Are heavy rains the key for triggering tornadoes? Some scientists may have some
interesting correlations.

*Heavy Rain Triggers Destructive
Tornadoes<http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/08/22/tornado-rain.html>
*Michael Reilly, Discovery News

*Aug. 22, 2008* -- When the spring skies blacken over the Midwestern United
States and the clouds begin to rotate ominously, residents know a
tornado<http://science.howstuffworks.com/tornado.htm>could be on its
way.

But just how the deadly twisters form is a mystery that has puzzled
scientists for decades. They know a range of atmospheric conditions must be
in place, including strong, closely paired up- and downdrafts, windshear at
high altitudes, and usually a foreboding supercell thunderstorm, spinning
slowly in the sky.

Amid this stormy cocktail, new research suggests that the heavy rains that
often accompany supercells may be key in triggering
tornadoes<http://blogs.discovery.com/news_earth/2008/01/tornadoes-globa.html>to
form. According to Robert Davies-Jones of the National
Severe Storms Laboratory <http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/> in Oklahoma, rain
falling in heavy sheets from supercell storm cloud provides a strong push to
updrafting air, causing it to spin up into a fully fledged twister.

"You can have a rotating storm but until you have rain you don't get a
tornado," Robert Davies-Jones of the National Severe Storm Laboratory said.

Scientists have known this simple fact since 1953, when radar first allowed
meteorologists to peer into supercells. In tornadic storms, they noticed the
rain swirled into a hook shape. The feature, called a 'hook echo' quickly
became known as a tell-tale radar marker for a tornado.

But the swirling rain was regarded as a by-product of a tornado, merely the
effect of its powerful corkscrewing winds. Davies-Jones believes the
opposite may be true.

"The hook echo is usually thought to be a passive feature of tornadoes," he
said. "I'm saying it's not passive, it's an active mechanism for tornado
formation."

His work is published in the August issue of *Journal of the Atmospheric
Sciences*.

Davies-Jones ran computer simulations of supercell storms to see if falling
rain could provide the needed kick that turned diffuse updrafts rising off
the warm plains into tight-spinning, lethal tornadoes. As the rain
falls<http://science.howstuffworks.com/question479.htm>out of a
rotating supercell cloud it is also twisting, and as it falls he
found it transfers the rotational energy into the updrafting air adjacent to
it.

The rain also acts as a sort of wall, confining the swirling, rising air. As
it continues to head skyward the air inside the rain curtain stretches out
like a figure skater raising her arms. The spinning speeds up, and a tornado
is born.

"The mechanism is a good one," David Lewellen of the University of West
Virginia said. "But until these things are seen more conclusively out in the
field, it's not at all clear whether rain is involved in the formation of
most tornadoes, a few, or none at all."

Lewellen points out that rain is only one of myriad weather conditions that
have to be just right for a tornado to form. A massive field campaign of
experiments is scheduled for the spring season in 2009 and 2010 that he
hopes will determine if the implications in the models are correct.

Hummingbird field data reporting and maps

This nice sight reports sightings of monarch butterflies, hummingbirds and more. Look at maps, database fields and much more. Very nicely done. Schools can also put in their reports as part of educational projects. A simple process allows you to register and find out more.

http://www.learner.org/jnorth/humm/

Tropical storm Faye produces tornado and lots of rain

Eventhough a storm does not quite make the level of a hurricane, it can still produce a lot of rain and flooding as it has done with Fay. It also produced a tornado. Look at photos, video and more

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/weather/hurricane/orl-hurricane-fay-tracking-0819085am,0,7206772.story

Beautiful total eclipse panorama photo from Russia

Hi,
A late report in response to Altai Mountain observation question: I
had a successful observation in Altai Mountains located near
Mongolian border inside Russia-Siberia. The area with fantastic
nature reserved environment (World Heritage Site) made the 2m 12s
eclipse a fascinating experience.
My panoramic shot of the eclipse is available on The World at Night
website:
http://www.twanight.org/newTWAN/photos.asp?ID=3001556
Regards
Babak

birth of hummingbirds photo slide showhu

These photos are wonderful. My friends in nearby Wyandotte county, KS (near Kansas City), have seen them at their feeders. However the hummies have not come to my feeder. They usually return August 22 on the dot the last couple of years so I am hopeful that will return so I can see them here. But there photos are wonderful. Thanks
eric


THE BIRTH OF A HUMMINGBIRD...


Keep in mind the egg is smaller than a tic tac and a quarter fits the opening of the nest!
This is truly amazing.

Be sure to click on NEXT PAGE at the bottom of each page; there are 5 pages in all. A lady found a hummingbird nest and got pictures all the way from the egg to leaving the nest.

It took 24 days from birth to flight. Because you'll probably never in your lifetime see this again, enjoy; and please share.

http://community-2.webtv.net/Velpics/HUM/

birth of hummingbirds photo slide showhu

These photos are wonderful. My friends in nearby Wyandotte county, KS (near Kansas City), have seen them at their feeders. However the hummies have not come to my feeder. They usually return August 22 on the dot the last couple of years so I am hopeful that will return so I can see them here. But there photos are wonderful. Thanks
eric


THE BIRTH OF A HUMMINGBIRD...


Keep in mind the egg is smaller than a tic tac and a quarter fits the opening of the nest!
This is truly amazing.

Be sure to click on NEXT PAGE at the bottom of each page; there are 5 pages in all. A lady found a hummingbird nest and got pictures all the way from the egg to leaving the nest.

It took 24 days from birth to flight. Because you'll probably never in your lifetime see this again, enjoy; and please share.

http://community-2.webtv.net/Velpics/HUM/

total and lunar eclipse photos

Multiple sequenced photos of diamond rings and Bailey';s Beads from Russia
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astrop
8/18/2008
can't find it? use the archives and go to earlier date other then this one

Partial lunar eclipse orientation
8/18/2008
http://www.spaceweather.com/
can't find it? use the archives and go to earlier date other then this one

Cassini spacecraft researching more about the geysers spewing material from Saturn's icy moon

The flyby is an attempt to discover more information about this curious icy moon Enceladus.
http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/080808-cassini-flyby.html

nice flyby map is located on this page
http://www.universetoday.com/2008/08/12/cassini-skeet-shoot-of-enceladus-a-success/

also check out the cool video that tells you more about the whole mission and brings you up to pace with the mission's agenda, findings and more (includes videos and superb photographic closeups to give you a better idea how unique this discovery is and how things keep getting even more wonderous)
http://www.space.com/php/video/player.php?video_id=Enceladus_web

also more updates at the main cassini website
http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm

More clues to water and more for Mars

Layers of clay-rich rock have been found in Mars’ Mawrth Vallis

http://www.seti.org/news/press-releases/martian-clays.php

Teacher discovers nebula

Great stuff. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93456780

Perseid meteor shower Thursdau Night and gorgeous Aquamarine fireball

A fireball is a meteor brighter then Venus (magnitude -2).

A friend and I camped out next to Powell Observatory.

There was a lot of activity then a lull. I lost time as I was plotting but it was a good night. But it was nice to see some bright ones including , a spectacular one , under the clearest skies I have seen this summer.

Date: 8/7-8/2008
Location. Louisburg, KC (Powell Observatory grounds south of Kansas City)
Time: 10:18-12:18 Central
sky conditions: to 5.5 mag clear (come clouds or fog on the Northern horizon 2nd hour)
Bert and I camped out and saw some nice meteors.

The rundown of 9 that I am posting
1- white blue
2-yellow
5-white
1- aqua green blue

Mags ranged from -3 to 4

5- Sporadic
3- Perseid
1- Kappa Cygnids

Mag -3 (1) ; +1 (2) ; +2 (5) ; +4 (1)_

Comments: The "star " of the show was a -3 aquamarine Perseid heading Northwest to the horizon (8 degrees) with a pronounced brightening along its path with a little flash near the end and a train (tail).
Possibly an earthgrazer that maybe someone in Iowa or Nebraka saw? It made my night!
Also once again (as I posted a few days ago) some meteors (3) seemed to traveled outward away from Casseiopia.
Could these be omicron-DRAconids?
Unfortunetly Bert was situated in the line of sight of a tree where this fireball went behind so he did not catch it :(
It was a beaut!

There are reports of clouds and rain coming so I hope things are okay so we can see the shower this coming weekend and to the 11th.

Eric Flescher (kcstarguy@aol.com), Olathe, KS:

From Russia -gorgeous totality photo 2nd and 3rd contact superimposed

From Russia -gorgeous totality photo 2nd and 3rd contact superimposed.
Normally a picture or view like this is not possible. Why because these first contact photos appear at the beginning (2nd contact ) and end of totality (3rd contact).
Superimposing the images onto each other (stacking) made this gorgeous photo possible
8/7/08
can't find it? use the archives and go to earlier date other then this one
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html

PS If you are interesting in learning about a trip to go to the next eclipse in China, July 2009 ,please contact me.
I can send you information and there is no obligation whatsoever.

Beautiful eclipse photo and a fireball video

Two for the price of one this day. A brilliant video of a (meteor) fireball. There is also spectacular photo of an image of the totally eclipsed sun from aboard an aircraft in Canada.

http://www.spaceweather.com/
not 8/6/2008 try archives

Terrifying clouds

When an total eclipse is coming and the shadow is moving the last thing you want to see is clouds. I am glad that the clouds parted and observers in China saw totality!!!
8/4

http://www.spaceweather.com/

Sue and I saw the live event in Kansas , 6 am from the internet site on our
computers. The Blacksun chasers observe totality in
mostly cloudless event in Russia.

In China , clouds flitted over the sun but disappeared
mostly during totality. I am happy that the event was
successful for them, Corona and diamond ring and the
approaching darkness was shown.
It was nice to see the events in both places on the
computer and then later on CNN in China. Their replays
in the Exploratorium and NASA websites

But wish I was there. Can't wait to see photos.