Earth & Space Weather

New major earthquake, 6.8 magnitude or higher, hits southwest Pakistan

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TheStarPhoenix - AP - 28 September 2013

 

 

ISLAMABAD - Officials say a major earthquake of 6.8 magnitude or larger has hit southwest Pakistan, less than a week after a massive temblor in the same region killed at least 359 people.

The U.S. Geological Survey said on its website that a 6.8 magnitude quake was felt on Saturday in Pakistan's southwestern Baluchistan province.

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140 Earth-like Planets Discovered Within the Milky Way

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Humansarefree.com - 9/27/13

Last week at the latest TEDGlobal conference in Oxford, astronomer Dimitar Sassilov, professor of astronomy at Harvard University and a distinguished member of the Kepler space telescope [1] science team, unveiled some incredible results gathered by our eyes and ears in the galaxy.

Kepler’s most recent reported downloaded conferred some incredible statistics, among which most importantly the discovery of: 706 potential new planets and five new solar systems, all found within the 150,000+ stars Kepler has studied so far since its 4 year mission began January last year.

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Did Earth Life Come from Space? Tough Algae Suggests Panspermia Possibility

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Space.com 0 9/22/13, Megan Gannon

An asteroid is shown crashing into Earth

Scientists have long debated the possibility of that the microbial seeds of life did not originate on Earth, but were perhaps delivered here from an alien source, encased in comets or meteorites from Mars.

But to get here, simple life forms would have had to endure a litany of harsh cosmic conditions, including ejection into space, freezing temperatures, fiery re-entry and impact.

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Mars Curiosity rover finds water in scoop of soil sample

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Earthsky.org - 9/27/13

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

The Sample Analysis at Mars instrument suite found water in the dust, dirt and fine soil from the Rocknest site on Mars. (This file photo shows trenches Curiosity dug in October 2012.) Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

Curiosity landed in Gale Crater on the surface of Mars on Aug. 6, 2012, charged with answering the question: “Could Mars have once harbored life?” To do that, Curiosity is the first rover on Mars to carry equipment for gathering and processing samples of rock and soil. One of those instruments was employed in the current research: the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument suite, which includes a gas chromatograph, a mass spectrometer and a tunable laser spectrometer. These tools enable SAM to identify a wide range of chemical compounds and determine the ratios of different isotopes of key elements.

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New electric fish found in murky waters

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Earthsky.org - 9/27/13

The species is named in honor of the Akawaio Amerindians that populate the upper Mazaruni. The region is increasingly suffering from freshwater habitat degradation as a consequence of gold-mining in the area. (Image credit: Hernán López-Fernández)

The species is named in honor of the Akawaio Amerindians that populate the upper Mazaruni. The region is increasingly suffering from freshwater habitat degradation as a consequence of gold-mining in the area. (Image credit: Hernán López-Fernández)

Nathan Lovejoy and his team at the University of Toronto Scarborough analyzed tissue samples collected during a recent expedition led by Hernán López-Fernández at the Royal Ontario Museum. By sequencing its DNA and reconstructing an evolutionary tree, Lovejoy’s team discovered the fish is so distinct it represents a new genus, the taxonomic classification level above species.

The upper Mazaruni River is a hotspot for biological diversity, yet remains largely unexplored because of its remote location.

Over 400 reports of large fireball over U.S. Midwest on September 26

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Earthsky.org - 9/27/13, Deborah Byrd

This is a

This is a “heat map,” created by the number of sightings reported to the American Meteor Society. Map via AMS and Mike Hankey.

The American Meteor Society (AMS) reports that it has received over 400 reports of a large fireball (bright meteor) over the U.S. Midwest today (September 26, 2013). People in Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri and Wisconsin spotted the meteor around 7:05 a.m. CDT; that was local time for the sighting. Witnesses from reported a bright light moving across the morning sky. The estimated trajectory for the fireball took it nearly over Indianapolis.

September has been a busy month for sightings of bright fireballs, according to the AMS. This morning’s event marks the 13th fireball sighting with at least 25 witnesses, the most ever since the AMS started recording sightings online, they say.

50,000 Displaced in India From Heavy Rains

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Accuweather.com - Eric Leister - 27 September, 2013

An Indian motorist tries to balance himself as a bus drives past him on a flooded road after heavy rains in Ahmadabad, India, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2013. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)

 

Several days of excessive rains in the Indian state of Gujarat have turned deadly.

At least six people have been killed, while more than 50,000 have been displaced by the recent flooding, according to Firstpost.

A slow-moving storm system has led to an extended period of torrential rainfall across the state and locally heavy rainfall will continue to be a concern into Friday before diminishing over the weekend. The greatest threat for flooding rainfall will be across northern parts of Gujarat during this time.

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India Flooding: Three Killed, Thousands Forced to Evacuate from Gujarat Villages

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Weather.com - AP - 26 September 2013

Buses stand stranded as people wade through a flooded road after heavy rains in Ahmadabad, India, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2013. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)

AHMEDABAD, India -- Massive flooding has forced thousands of people to evacuate villages in the west Indian state of Gujarat, where heavy rains and swollen rivers have inundated cities and closed off roads and railway lines, officials said Wednesday. At least three people have died.

One man was electrocuted in the main city of Ahmedabad, where people were wading through thigh-deep water on the streets and waterlogged cars and buses became stranded, said Chief Fire Officer M.F. Dastoor.

Farther south in the hard-hit district of Bharuch, two people were killed in flood-related incidents, said district official Avantika Singh.

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