A major X-class solar flare is now in progress. The X1.7 flare fired off from sunspot region 1402 Friday Jan. 27 which peaked at 1837 UT. A pulse of highly charged particles are heading towards Earth, but should present only a glancing blow.
Jan 27, 2012 - 10:57:48 PM
A massive solar flare — the strongest one so far this year — erupted today (Jan. 27) from the same active region of the Sun that triggered a raging solar tempest earlier this week.
Jan 27, 2012 - 6:18:02 PM
Despite past observations that Vesta would be nearly bone dry, newly published research indicates that about half of the giant asteroid is sufficiently cold and dark enough that water ice could theoretically exist below the battered surface.
Jan 27, 2012 - 6:09:54 PM
Mexico City - The 5,400-metre high Popocatepeti volcano has erupted again with a plume of ash after shaking for several minutes early on Thursday.
Jan 27, 2012 - 6:01:44 PM
New evidence from an ancient lunar rock suggests that the moon once harbored a long-lived dynamo — a molten, convecting core of liquid metal that generated a strong magnetic field 3.7 billion years ago. The findings, published today in Science, point to a dynamo that lasted much longer than scientists previously thought, and suggest that an alternative energy source may have powered the dynamo.
Jan 27, 2012 - 6:01:31 PM
HOUSTON - The National Weather Service has confirmed that six tornadoes touched down in southeast Texas during storms Wednesday.
Jan 27, 2012 - 5:53:48 PM
MOFFET FIELD, California - NASA's Kepler mission has discovered 11 new planetary systems hosting 26 confirmed planets. These discoveries nearly double the number of verified planets and triple the number of stars known to have more than one planet that transits, or passes in front of, the star. Such systems will help astronomers better understand how planets form.
Jan 27, 2012 - 5:22:35 PM
Discoveries made in some underwater caves by Texas &M University at Galveston researchers in the Bahamas could provide clues about how ocean life formed on Earth millions of years ago, and perhaps give hints of what types of marine life could be found on distant planets and moons.
Jan 27, 2012 - 10:37:23 AM
An errant earthgrazer from the Centaurid complex may shoot northward. Better yet, a bright fireball may light up the sky. February is the start of the fireball season, when an abundance of fireballs seem to occur. This lasts well into April and seems to occur mostly during the early evening hours.
Jan 27, 2012 - 8:23:13 AM
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica - A new vent has opened on one of Costa Rica’s active volcanoes, the latest activity following a series of small eruptions beginning in 2010, researchers say.
Jan 26, 2012 - 2:56:18 PM
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – The National Weather Service has now documented paths of destruction from at least 10 tornadoes in the outbreak of storms across central Alabama early Monday.
Jan 26, 2012 - 2:43:05 PM
HOUSTON - Buckets of rain and powerful winds that apparently spawned several tornadoes swept across Texas on Wednesday, forcing drivers to abandon cars on flooded roads but not dropping enough water to make up for a historic dry spell.
Jan 26, 2012 - 1:08:12 PM
The events of the last three days were from the January 19th event which spawned an M3-class flare and following CME. Since the Jan. 19th event, three significant earthquakes have occurred (Chiapas, Mexico - Chile - and Fiji Islands). Also, a large fatal tornado hits Alabama. On January 26th, several tornadoes have been reported in Central Texas. No reports of damage as of this news release.
Jan 26, 2012 - 2:11:53 AM