IncredibleWorld.net » Science

Massive Solar Storm Causes Aurora Lights in United States and Canada

GeeksGlombert — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 12:45:13 +0000

As scientists have already warned us, huge solar storm hit Earth’s atmosphere today. A few of extraordinary massive eruptions of the plasma on Sun’s surface have reached Earth today and thanks to that increased solar activity, residents in some areas of North America were able to see aurora lights in the sky.

NASA has announced that there were four strong eruptions on Sun which were directed straight to Earth. Luckily, our atmosphere as well as magnetic field has played well its role and absorbed the radiation.

Scientists have been predicting for a while that solar storms like this one could cause significant damage to satellites. Scientists are predicting that increased solar activity in next few years will be followed with a number of similar solar storms.

Aurora Borealis in Wisconsin (by sci.sina.com)

Solar storm light show over Saskaton, Canada (by sci.sina.com)

Aurora lights over Michigan, USA (by sci.sina.com)

Volcano Eruption in Iceland Followed by “Dirty Thunderstorms”

TheWriteMeister — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 23:36:22 +0000

Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland has continuing to gather our attention. The huge plume of ash which has covered almost whole western and northern Europe has made a lot of troubles to passengers and air traffic landing down the most of plane flights over the Europe.

But it still continues to send large amounts of ash into the air and photographers managed to catch some photos of rare phenomenon called a “dirty thunderstorm” which follows the eruption.

It is really amazing and also scary to see those photos where boiling stones and plenty of strong and shiny thunders are “dancing” and all that thing is followed by dark plume of ash.

It is not completely clear what is the real cause of such thunderstorms but scientists believe that they might be caused by ice particles mixed with volcanic ash and lava. As you can see from photos, those “dirty thunderstorms” are pretty intensive and at this moment, the eruption of Eyjafjallajokull volcano has took an apocalyptic look, considering the fact that it caused the breakdown of whole air traffic system for almost a week and we don’t know when it is going to end.

Image credits: Vilhelm Gunnarsson / EPA

Lyrid Meteor Shower Expected to be Seen on Earth Day

TheWriteMeister — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 20:38:06 +0000

40th anniversary of the marking of Earth Day is to be celebrated on April 22 this year and it seems that the celebration could be followed by some ‘natural fireworks’ too.

Scientists expect to see the Lyrid meteor shower from April 16 to April 25. They claim that behavior of this meteor shower is pretty unpredictable. Lyrid shower is capable to ‘produce’ from 10 to 90 meteors per hour but some scientists claim that there are recordings which say that in 1803 this shower produced about 1000 meteors per hour.

If you are planning to see some meteors you should consider leaving urban areas because the amount of urban light could prevent you seeing meteors.

Credits: National Geographic

Did You Know How Pollen Grains Are Beautiful?

TheWriteMeister — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 19:38:52 +0000

With everyday improvement of technology, we often get new information which are showing us how amazing nature can be and it is a very proof of existence and perfection of Creator.

Human eye can only see a very limited number of objects and light spectrum. We can’t see the tiny particles which we are made from but with the help of microscopes, it is possible to see further and deeper but even they have their limits.

Until now, scientists weren’t able to show us the real beauty of tiny grains of pollen, their look could be only imagined. However, a few of scientists from Switzerland managed to take those beautiful photos of pollen grains by using Scanning Electron Microscope.

Source: Micronaut

Perfect Dental Patient Unveiled at Showa University in Japan

TheWriteMeister — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 15:17:13 +0000

Those who had a chance to know more about the job of dentist, the fact that patients can be real trouble for dentists is probably familiar. It is especially hard to find a ‘perfect’ patient to be used in schools for training of new young dentists.

But, Japanese scientists from Showa University decided to create a ‘perfect patient’ which never complains and always obeys instructions. It is robotic patient called Hanako Showa and it will be used for dental treatment training.

I just hope they are not going to get used on perfect patient because in reality they will have to handle a very different kind of patients.

Credits: [ Zimbio.com ]

Volcano Erupts Under Eyjafjallajokull in Iceland

TheWriteMeister — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 13:42:12 +0000

Local authorities in Hvolsvollur, in Iceland have confirmed that a volcanic eruption under the Eyjafjallajökull glacier has begun today.

It is reported that some farms in the Fljótshlíð are evacuated but volcano isn’t a threat to inhabited areas.

The Eyjafjallajökull volcano is known as active central volcano and his last eruption was recorded about 189 years ago. Local authorities are concerned about the fact that volcano could cause very fast melting of glacier which could cause floods in the area.

Credits: [ Grapevine.is | Visir.is | Mbl.is | Drifandi.vedur.is | Fosshotel.is ]

Undersea Volcanic Eruption Photographed by Japan Coast Guard

TheWriteMeister — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 19:09:39 +0000

Japan Coast Guard has captured astonishing photos of undersea volcano eruption. Japanese ship Yashima was on a routine patrol near the place when volcano exploded.

This is Fukutoku-Okanoba volcano which is located 745 miles south of Tokyo. Luckily, no ships were in the area above the volcanic eruption, otherwise they would be blown out into the air. The more intriguing fact it that there wasn’t any warning from Japan Meteorological Agency about the possible eruption.

Credits: [ NationalGeographic ]

The 15 Most Beautiful Photos Tweeted From The Space by Soichi Noguchi

TheWriteMeister — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 11:46:31 +0000

Soichi Noguchi is a Japanese aeronautical engineer who is currently a part of the Soyuz TMA-17 crew and Expedition 22 to the International Space Station and it seems that he is one of the first scientists who got an excellent idea to share what he sees from space with internet users.

Soichi recently started tweeting from the space and he decided to show us some of his best photos taken from there which he shares with us almost every day via Twitpic. Here you can see the list of some of the most beautiful photos taken by Soichi Noguchi from International Space Station.

Hawaii Island, photo taken on January 31, 2010

Jakarta, Indonesia, photo taken on February 9, 2010

Bahrain, photo taken on February 9, 2010

KSC, Florida. Space Shuttle Endeavour STS-130 is preparing to launch, photo taken on February 4, 2010

Quebec City, Canada, photo taken on February 3, 2010

Tokyo, Japan, photo taken on January 28, 2010

Golden Gate Bridge, San Fransisco, photo taken on January 30, 2010

Aruba Antiles near Venezuela, photo taken on February 6, 2010

Moscow, Russia, photo taken on February 5, 2010

Sapporo, Japan, photo taken on February 4, 2010

Maldives Island in Indian Ocean, photo taken on February 3, 2010

Mount Kilimanjaro, photo taken on February 1, 2010

Mount Fuji, photo taken on January 31, 2010

Pico de Orizaba, Mexico, photo taken on February 7, 2010

Amazon River, Brazil, photo taken on February 6, 2010

Lunar Rainbow, Something What You Don’t See Every Day

TheWriteMeister — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 22:23:13 +0000

You probably know that rainbow is a phenomenon that is caused by a spectrum of light which shines through a droplets of rain or other forms of water particles that can be found in atmosphere.

Most of us have seen a daylight rainbows and they are beautiful and amazing and I personally feel some excitement every time I see one of them. But, I have never seen a rainbow in night, so called lunar rainbow. Here you can find incredible photo of a lunar rainbow that was taken “in the middle of the night” on Fraser Island.

Credits: Flickr

The First Detailed Images Of Antarctica Landscape That Is Hiding Beneath The Ice

TheWriteMeister — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 15:02:56 +0000

Do you know what is hiding miles beneath the icy surface in Antarctica? Scientists have finally managed to visualize a landscape that is hiding under an ice sheet.

Scientist used a ground-penetrating radar in last two years to create most detailed images of a Antarctica landscape that is hiding beneath the ice. Images that are result of surface scanning revealed a landscape with a number of a roughly peaks that are up to 2600 meters tall.

This project was called Gamburtsev Province Project and it is a part of the International Polar Year science program. The study was lead by a geophysicist Robin Bell of Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.

Credits: [ National Geographic ]