Earth’s atmosphere is escaping into space…but very slowly. It’ll be billions of years before it’s gone, but this MinuteEarth video explains it in two short minutes!
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Cloud streets over the Bering Sea on January 20, 2006. Image Credit: Jesse Allen, NASA.
Cloud streets are long rows of cumulus clouds that are oriented parallel to the direction of the wind. Check out these cool images!
In this image, taken at night after the tornado passed through Moore, moonlight is illuminating the tops of the storm clouds. Image Credit: William Straka III, University of Wisconsin, CIMSSData Credit: University of Wisconsin
On May 20, 2013, NASA and NOAA satellites were monitoring the weather system that generated severe weather in the south-central United States and spawned the Moore, Oklahoma tornado. This post contains four images from that routine monitoring from space.
A 4.5-m (14.8-ft) white shark removed a 20-kg (44-lb) chunk of flesh, sinew, and blubber from a whale by performing lateral headshakes. Courtesy C. Fallows, et al.
At False Bay, South Africa, great white sharks are infamous for their dramatic attacks on fur seals. They propel from the ocean depths towards their prey at such great speed that they breach the ocean surface, often with a seal clamped between rows of teeth in their enormous mouth. But the seals aren’t the only source of food for the sharks. Scientists have uncovered new evidence that scavenging on dead whales is a little-known but significant food source for great whites.
Hayfield in infrared via Andrew Shurtleff
Andrew Shurtleff’s stunning time-lapse video shows the world as viewed in near-infrared – like a planet painted in pure ice.
Between 1950-2005, 42% of killer tornadoes occurred at night. Via wwaytv3.com
This post outlines what you need to know to stay safe during a tornado.
The many faces of the harlequin ladybird. Image: Entomart.
Not everyone has what it takes to be a successful invader. Most species that find their way to foreign lands starve, get eaten or otherwise fail to establish themselves in significant numbers. But every so often an organism thrives so well in its new terrain, that it ends up trampling much of the native flora and fauna. The harlequin ladybird is one such formidable conqueror. What’s their secret?
If your sky is clear – and your horizon unobstructed – start looking toward the west as soon as the sun sets on these May 2013 evenings. You’ll find the two brightest planets there: Venus and Jupiter. A third planet, Mercury, will begin to be visible around May 20. Between May 24-29, Jupiter, Venus and Mercury will fit within a circle whose diameter is less than 5 degrees wide on the sky’s dome. May 26 is the closest grouping of these three planets until the year 2021.
Tornado on May 18, 2013 near Rozel, Kansas. Image Credit: Shalyn Phillips/ TVNweather.com
A very dynamic and strong storm system brought severe weather across the Central United States this past weekend (May 18-19, 2013). The Storm Prediction Center highlighted parts of Oklahoma, Kansas, and parts of Missouri into a moderate risk to see severe thunderstorms on Sunday, May 19. The entire weekend featured many dangerous storms that produced large hail, strong winds, and violent tornadoes. This post contains videos and photos of tornadoes that pushed through the central U.S. this past weekend. Warning: some are graphic. More severe weather expected today.
Blood Falls seeping into Lake Bonney. A tent can be seen in the lower left for size comparison. Photo from the United States Antarctic Program Photo Library.
In 1911, Australian explorer and geologist Griffith Taylor discovered a strange glacial feature in Antarctica, which is now known as Blood Falls. It’s a bright red waterfall, nearly five stories high, seeping through a crack in Taylor Glacier, which flows into Antarctica’s Lake Bonney. Geologists first believed that the color of the water came from algae, but today the red color is known to be caused by microbes living off sulfur and iron in the oxygen-free water trapped beneath the ice for nearly 2 million years.
