• Tropical Storm Freda (05P) formed near Solomon Islands

    December 26, RSMC Nadi started to monitor a tropical disturbance that had developed about 1075 km (670 miles) to the north of Port Vila, Vanuatu. During that day, the disturbance moved westwards and developed into a tropical depression.Now known as Tropical Storm

  • Tropical Cyclone Mitchell formed near Western Australia

    TCWC Perth started to monitor a weak tropical low that had developed about 1,265 km (785 miles) to the southeast of Jakarta, Indonesia. Over the next couple of days the low moved towards the south-southwest and gradually developed further before the JTWC declared it

  • “Stars of Northern Thailand” Timelapse

    Photographer Teoh Hui Chieh from Malaysia created a beautiful timelapse of the night sky in Northern Thailand, and he was lucky to capture Polaris – the North Star and Andromeda Galaxy.  The timelapse was taken over the course of 3 nights: 2 nights on a rooftop in

  • Increased activity at San Cristobal volcano, Nicaragua

    Volcanic tremor has eased but remains elevated at San Cristobal volcano in Nicaragua. Over 15 explosions were recorded at the volcano on December 26, 2012. Ash columns reached up to 500 meters high, slightly affecting surrounding towns of Tonala, Morazán,…

  • Haze over Eastern China

    Haze hangs over eastern China, particularly in the lowlands between ridges of hills and mountains and across the coastal plain by the mouth of the Yangtze River. The haze is likely a combination of dust and air pollution. In winter in China, poor air quality often the

  • What’s Up January 2013: Encounters of the planetary kind

    Watch Saturn, Jupiter, Venus and Mars as they make appearances next to the moon this month, making them easy and fun to spot in the sky in January 2013. Jane Houston Jones from JPL provides a video preview of the January events. Eyes on the Solar

  • Climate change can cause volcanic eruptions

    The evidence from a ten-year research project into the volcanoes of Central America indicates that climate change can also cause volcanic eruptions. Researchers have observations of ash layers in the seabed and have reconstructed the history of volcanic eruptions

  • Plumes of dust by Lake Chad and Aïr Mountains, Chad and Niger

    Three plumes of dust from the Sahara Desert can be seen blowing west-southwestward in this image of West Africa. Near the center, northeast of Lake Chad, are two light, parallel plumes originating from the Bodélé Depression, in Chad. Near the left edge, south of the

  • World’s biggest, oldest trees are dying

    Scientists recently warned of an alarming increase in the death rates of the largest living organisms on the planet, the giant, old trees that harbour and sustain countless birds and wildlife. New research conducted by universities in Australia and the United States