Current Events

  • Irish Chronicles Document Links Between Volcanoes and Weather
    A study of over 40,000 written entries in Irish Annals and ice core measurements shows a strong corr...Read more

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    Irish Chronicles Document Links Between Volcanoes and Weather

    A study of over 40,000 written entries in Irish Annals and ice core measurements shows a strong correlation between the occurrence of volcanic eruptions and extreme cold weather in Ireland over a 1200 year period. Data analyzed in this study cover the period from 431 to 1649, during which time up to 48 volcanic eruptions are identified in Greenland ice core records through deposition of volcanic sulfate in annual layers of ice. You can find the study (open access), published on 6 June 2013 in IOP Publishing's journal Environmental Research Letters, at http://iopscience.iop.org/1748-9326/8/2/024035/article. Find out more about how volcanoes can influence climate.
  • EF-5 Tornado in El Reno, Oklahoma Widest Ever Recorded in US
    The EF-5 tornado that hit El Reno, Oklahoma on May 31st was the widest ever recorded in the US, acco...Read more

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    EF-5 Tornado in El Reno, Oklahoma Widest Ever Recorded in US

    The EF-5 tornado that hit El Reno, Oklahoma on May 31st was the widest ever recorded in the US, according to the National Weather Service in Norman Oklahoma. The tornado, which remained on the ground for 40 minutes and reached 2.6 miles across (4.2 km), took the lives of 18 people including storm chasers Tim Samaras, Paul Samaras and Carl Young. For more information on the tornado, visit http://ow.ly/i/2hfDG.
  • Atmospheric CO2 Level Tops 400 ppm
    During the week of May 13th, the CO2 level at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii topped 400 ppm rep...Read more

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    Atmospheric CO2 Level Tops 400 ppm

    During the week of May 13th, the CO2 level at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii topped 400 ppm repeatedly. Daily levels of CO2 can vary due to weather, and there are seasonal trends as well. The level of atmospheric greenhouse gases continues to increase, now over 120 ppm since the Industrial Revolution began. For more on the Keeling Curve, see http://keelingcurve.ucsd.edu/. Find out more about greenhouse gases and warming.

Asteroid Image List


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This is a recent image of the asteroid Mathilde, from the NEAR ( Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous) Spacecraft. It was taken on June 26, 1997 at a distance of 250,000 miles from the surface. (Courtesy of NASA).

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This is a comparison of Gaspra (top) with Mars' two satellites, Deimos (lower left) and Phobos (lower right). (Courtesy of NASA)

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This is an image of the asteroid Gaspra from Galileo on October 29, 1991. (Courtesy of NASA)

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Another image of Gaspra. (Courtesy of NASA/JPL)

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This is a montage of 11 Gaspra images taken by Galileo on October 29, 1991. (Courtesy of NASA)

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This is a montage of 24 images of the asteroid Vesta taken by the Hubble Space Telescope using the Wide-Field Planetary Camera 2. These images were taken between November 28 and December 1, 1994. (Courtesy of NASA/STScI and B. Zellner, Georgia Souther Uni versity)

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This is an image of the asteroid Ida seen by Galileo on its way to Jupiter on August 28, 1993. (Courtesy of NASA/JPL)

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This is a composite image of Ida rotating seen by Galileo on August 28, 1993. (Courtesy of NASA/JPL)

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This is a color image of Ida and its moon, Dactyl. (Courtesy of NASA)

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Another image of Ida and Dactyl. (Courtesy of NASA)

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These are radar images of the asteroid Toutatis taken from Earth. (Courtesy of NASA)

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