Wayward humpback and young head back to sea

Normally whales go where the seawater is but this duo has been swimming in fresh water which exposes them to skin damage and making them susceptible to germs.The mother took a wrong turn and has been going up the Sacremento River.

Monster tornado 'flat out leveled the town'

Google comes out with some before and after satellite pictures (need Google Earth - free download- )

In USAtoday 5/7/2007 on page 5A
"Monster tornado 'flat out leveled the town'
www.usatoday.com/weather/storms/tornadoes/2007-05-05-kansas_N.htm
by Emily Bazar
(you might be able to see it on line and the damage pics)

there is a map of the counties which affected NM, OK, KS, NE, SD, CO nad TX Sat and Sunday.

also a life long resident echoes probably what a lot of people think in tornado alley

Wittig said she never expected a tornado to hit her home , even though she lives in a twister hotspot.

"The sirens have gone off before many a time, but the tornado would go over or around the town" she says. " That's why so many people got hurt . That's why so many people stayed home. Nobody thought it was going to hit."

Saaturn next to moon photo

An occulation occurs when planets are covered by the Moon. Recently outside of the US Saturn was about to cover the moon. Look at this great shot for May 26,2007. (if you get to spaceweather, and you are not on 5/26 goto archives)

Students will
(1) Learn about occulations and how they can help scientists and astronomers
(2) Determine what is the real size comparison of Saturn and our Moon

Mars' wet past possible best evidence

Mars' wet past possible best evidence
A patch of Martian soil analyzed by NASA's rover Spirit is so rich in silica that it may provide some of the strongest evidence yet that ancient Mars was much wetter than it is now. The processes that could have produced such a concentrated deposit of silica require the presence of water ...
http://www.astronomy.com/asy/default.aspx?c=a&id=5571
Students will:
(1) Compare the climates and atmosphere compared to Earth
(2) Will compare this deposit to cave deposites, events and cave structures
(3) will look at crytals and how they form

Video: How Tornadoes are Rated and Tracked

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/05/070508-tornadoes-video.html

Ocean Loaded With Carbon Dioxide

Cold water can hold much more CO2

Southern Ocean Loaded With Carbon Dioxide
WASHINGTON (May 19) - The Southern Ocean around Antarctica is so loaded with carbon dioxide that it can barely absorb any more, so more of the gas will stay in the atmosphere to warm up the planet, scientists reported on Thursday.

New deep sea world found

Deep-Sea Alien Abode Discovered

Carnivorous sponges, blind creepy-crawlies adorned with hairy antennae and ribbed worms are just some of the new characters recently found to inhabit the dark abysses of the Southern Ocean, an alien abode once thought devoid of such life.

http://www.livescience.com/animals/070516_alien_abode.html

Aerial shots of the Greensburg, KS tornado

Aerial shots of the Greensburg, KS f5 tornado

Object not a meteorite

What looks like a meteorite, smells like a meteorite ..... Scientists found this object was not a meteorite. But the mystery is where did it come from?

http://news.aol.com/topnews/articles/_a/mysterious-object-turns-out-to-be-space/20070511203309990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001

Meteorite recovered after Kansas tornado

An EF 5 tornado pulverized the town of Greensburg, KS on May 5,2007.
Up until that time the town was known for housing the very special meteorite found there. The meteorite was found in the wreakage recently .

Meteorite recovered after Kansas tornado

United Press International - USAWhile some feared the Pallasite Meteorite had simply blown away during last Friday's devastating tornado strike, the half-iron half-stone space artifact was ...See all stories on this topic

'Tornado Alley' hit by worst twister in 10 years

I was not stormchasing Friday when the tornado hit. Here is more news. My other stormchaser friends were "on it" however and some took photos and video and helped out after the tornado hit. Here is more information. (I did chaser Saturday and Sunday in KS and OK and will have more information links later etc)

'Tornado Alley' hit by worst twister in 10 years
12:51 08 May 2007
NewScientist.com news service
Celeste Biever and Reuters
http://environment.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn11800&feedId=earth_rss20

eclipse sighting black hole style

eclipse sighting black hole style
Space telescope Chandra observes remarkable Eclipse Of a Black Hole

Science Daily
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070412115254.htm
— Chandra observations of the galaxy NGC 1365 have captured a remarkable eclipse of the supermassive black hole at its center. A dense cloud of gas passed in front of the black hole, which blocked high-energy X-rays from material close to the black hole. This serendipitous alignment allowed astronomers to measure the size of the disk of material around the black hole, a relatively tiny structure on galactic scales

Tornadoes on the ground 4/24/07

I found this on MSN Video and thought you all might be interested in it.
oklahomoa and kansas stormchase caught on video. Pretty good.

Click this link to see the video of the stormchasers observe several tornadoes 4/24/07
http://video.msn.com/v/us/v.htm?g=c45266e3-cd3d-4f56-9780-efd56eddc2ab&f=06/64&fg=email

weather reports 4/24/07

Lightning

a new planet found around red dwarf star yields may be an earth-like

Extrasolar (otherwise known as exoplanets – planets found outside of our solar system have been researched and found since the 1960’s and earlier. The latest is a new planet found around red dwarf star yields may be an earth-like

Students
(E.O.A.S.1) Will learn about how a red star may provide a suitable earth-like planet
(E.O.A.S.2) Will gain information about the wobble effect by which many of the planets are found
(E.O.A.S.3) Will explain more about the “zone of habitability”

There are several links and websites with information about this new found planet around another star (called an Exoplanet). But this article in Astronomy magazine is the best in regards to factual and additional information.

http://www.astronomy.com/asy/default.aspx?c=a&id=5471

a new planet found around red dwarf star yields may be an earth-like

Extrasolar (otherwise known as exoplanets – planets found outside of our solar system have been researched and found since the 1960’s and earlier. The latest is a new planet found around red dwarf star yields may be an earth-like

Students
(E.O.A.S.1) Will learn about how a red star may provide a suitable earth-like planet
(E.O.A.S.2) Will gain information about the wobble effect by which many of the planets are found
(E.O.A.S.3) Will explain more about the “zone of habitability”

There are several links and websites with information about this new found planet around another star (called an Exoplanet). But this article in Astronomy magazine is the best in regards to factual and additional information.

http://www.astronomy.com/asy/default.aspx?c=a&id=5471

Niagra Falls (USA) is nice but Victoria Falls (S.Africa=) is better

Niagra Falls (USA) is nice but Victoria Falls (S.Africa=) is better

In 2001 before the 2001 eclipse I had a magical experience going near the sensational Victoria Falls in S. Africa from the Zimbabwe side. It is a spectacular site and I really enjoyed my time there videotaping and photographing the falls in absolutely clear sunny weather.

This link is from someone who took views it from the air.
Enjoy

Asteroid flies by close to Earth see movie of it

Small asteroids are important because if they come close and hit the Earth (like one thought to have killed off the dinosaurs some 65 million years ago) it would not be good for us for several reasons.
(****If you don't see this window in the 4/18 issue of spaceweather look in the archives)
(Must have or get Windows Media Player to view)
Students will
(E.O.A.S.1) View the video and sumarize what they see.
(E.O.A.S.2) Describe the steps that would happen if a small or large asteroid would hit in the ocean or on land.
(E.O.A.S.3) Discover more about the theory and validation how an asteroid hit the Earth 65 millions years ago and what possibly happened with the dinosaurs.


See a movie of ASTEROID 2007 HA: Watch this movie. It shows asteroid 2007 HA flying past Earth yesterday 2.5 million kilometers away.
Amateur astronomer Greg Selleck filmed the flyby from his home in Madison, Wisconsin.
At 13th magnitude ( visible with naked eye is 6th magnitude)
the space rock was an easy target for large backyard telescopes.
It is amazing that this asteroid was only discovered 2 days ago by the
MIT's LINEAR special telescopic survey on April 16th.

more on this asteroid
http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/db_shm?sstr=2007%20

earthobservatory.nasa.gov

Students will
(E.O.A.S.1) Study a chosen link on a topic , analyze , summarize and report it for a presentation.

THIS news center always has a lot of interesting links.

In the News:
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/

* Latest Images:
Locust Swarms Develop on the Red Sea Coast
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=17610

Floods in Argentina
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=17609

Plume at Shiveluch Volcano, Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=17608

Melt Ponds on Greenland's Ice Cap
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=17607

Plume at Mount Bagana, Bouganville Island
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=17606

Melting Days on Greenland
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=17605

Springtime Aerosols over Eastern Asia
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=17604

Magnitude 8.1 Earthquake off the Solomon Islands
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=17603

* NASA News
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NasaNews/
- NASA Data Show Earthquakes May Quickly Boost Regional Volcanoes

* Media Alerts
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/MediaAlerts/
- High-Resolution Images Herald New Era in Earth Sciences
- Snowmelt Monitored in the Baltic Sea Watershed Region in Near Real Time
- Arctic Sea Ice Narrowly Missed Record Low in Winter 2007
- The Global Carbon Budget -- Proper Accounting Means Paying Attention to Inland Waters
- Want to Monitor Climate Change? Pick Up a Penguin!
- Experts Develop Technology to Increase Effectiveness of Tsunami Warning Systems
- University of Alaska-Fairbanks Scientist to Lead Sea Ice Expedition

* Headlines from the press, radio, and television:
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/Headlines/
- Volcano Eruptions Diminish on Indian Ocean Island
- Climbers Becoming Reluctant Witnesses to Global Warming
- Quake Lifts Solomon Islands Out of Sea
- Reunion Sees 'Colossal' Volcano Eruption, But Population Safe
- Panel: Global Warming a Threat to Earth
- Bleakest Warning Issued on Climate
- Warming Not Behind Hurricane Activity: Forecaster
- Study: Lake Superior Warming Quickly
- Climate Change Threatens a New Dust Bowl
- Winter Arctic Sea Ice Near Record Low
- Study Shows Rich Reforestation After Fires
- 'Rough Guide' Tsunami Warnings on the Way
- Global Warming Driving Australian Fish South: Report
- Barrier Reef Could Have Blocked Tsunami: Scientist
- Forecasters Predict Busy Atlantic Hurricane Season
- NASA: Arctic Meltdown Threatens Ice Cap's Stability

* New Research Highlights
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/Research/




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Comet Lovejoy photo

4/7/2007

I photographed the latest comet Comet Lovejoy.

(near middle of picture hazy star)

Students will
(E.O.A.S.1) Compare and contrast this comet ( tail shape, size, distinct nature etc) to the pictures of magnificent Comet McNaught , which we could see in the Northern skies only for a few days in January 2007 before it displayed its huge tail in the Southern Hemisphere.

(E.O.A.S.2) This comet will only reach magnitude 7 (but comets can change, as they are like cats - they are unpredictable, someone said). Compare to the other parts of the magnitude scale and compare it to McNaught, aided eye, Venus and others.

This comet is famous for the fact that it is the FIRST comet to be captured with a digital camera -a canon XT, just like the one I have . I was not in the right place at the right time because the discoverer is in the Southern Hemisphere.

I thought we could not see the comet in the Northern Hemisphere until around 4/15 but I captured it (Black and white here) last night (60 seconds). It has a greenish tint and I am working on a color image and will try to show it soon. It seems to have a slight fan tail shape and the coma (head is distinct ) as you can see. It is about 8th magnitude which as many people know unobservable to the naked eye. We won't be able to see it without a small telescope or binoculars with its closest approach in about a week.

Picture

time taken 4:57 MT 4/07/2007

exposure:60 seconds

Celestial:
Right Ascension: 20h 4.8m
Declination: -30 degrees 55 minutes

More soon

Tvashtar volcano on Jupiter's moon Io

4/7/2007 (if not this date for spaceweather use the archives to search for more information related to this photo
Students will
(E.O.A.S.1) Will compare Tvarish to other volcanoes on earth like Vesuvius in Italy.
(E.O.A.S.2) Will discover which 3 other planets, besides Earth, have active volcanoes on them.
(E.O.A.S.3) Compare and contrast Earth volcanoes , the Tvarish volcano and other solar system volcanoes as to their production of material and additional information.

The New Horizon spacecraft, heading out towards Pluto, snapped a photo of the Tvashtar volcano giving us a show that we normally can't see even with the Hubble or Earth telescopes.
The bluish plume that looks like a dome, is the ejected materials that spews out into space and then drifts back to the landscape of Io which many say looks like a " field of pizza."

explore choose a habitat

Students will

(E.O.A.S.1) Explore a variety of habitats and comparing and contrasting the animals, habits and more

explore choose a habitat
from Planet Earth video series
http://www.nature.org/earth/?src=st2&gclid=CJukmpGTrYsCFSWHPgodDTz1VQ

watch the splendid video series every Sunday on discovery channel
http://www.discovery.com/

Fire Rainbow

4/4/2007
Students will learn about
(EOAS1) weather and clouds
(EOAS2) spectrum
(EOAS3) how light is refracted (bent) by substances and creats different colors


This is truly a phenomenon of ice not fire. But it does deal with light.

June 19, 2006—It looks like a rainbow that's been set on fire, but this phenomenon is as cold as ice.
Known in the weather world as a circumhorizontal arc, this rare sight was caught on film on June 3 as it hung over northern Idaho near the Washington State border

Tornado outbreak March 28, 2007 reports/photos and more

E.O.A.S. objectives
3/28/2007
(E.O.A.S.1)Can you explain why the storms reports are more or less in a straight line path?
(E.O.A.S.2) Can you explain why many hail reports are next to many of the tornado reports? Does the video on birth of a tornado help in this analysis?
(E.O.A.S.3) -What can you learn from the video report by listening and viewing the video?

Some of these tornadoes were during the day while some -tornadoes came during night fall. Stormchasing at night is even more difficult. I once was chasing at night south of Kansas City. I spied what I thought was a wallcloud and it looked like it might drop a tornado. I asked the trooper about it and he said "no it's nothing." Later the storm put a small tornado down just across the Kansas line in Missouri. So I think I knew better but may have not caught it anyway. Here is the latest outbreak with more information, see below.
This photo is a N OAA pic of the reports that I found at this website on MSN .
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17850600/
This link has a nice photo of two tornado funnels on the ground.
A man watches as a tornado crosses the highway east of the Northern Natural Gas Plant in Beaver County, Okla., on Wednesday.
On the same site there is a link window to NBC video March 29: Storm chasers talk with TODAY anchor Matt Lauer about a Texas tornado they recorded.
Also nice interaction video of the birth of a tornado which you can view at the same website above.
(report pic from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17850600/)