Teo Blašković founded The Watchers in 2011 and edited it until 2026, covering seismic and volcanic activity, extreme weather, space weather and near-Earth objects. Articles on this page are his archive.
On November 1, 2023, military personnel located on Iwoto Island witnessed the birth of a new island following intense volcanic activity. The eruption, which occurred 1 km (0.62 miles) off the island’s southern coast, was preceded by frequent volcanic tremors since October 21.
A large filament eruption centered near N30W30 was observed in H-alpha imagery around 05:00 UTC on November 3, 2023.
A shallow earthquake registered by the USGS as M5.6 hit western Nepal at 18:02 UTC (23:47 local time) on Friday, November 3, 2023. The agency is reporting a depth of 17.9 km (11 miles). GSRAS is reporting M5.6 at a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles).
New activity/unrest was reported for 8 volcanoes from October 25 to 31, 2023. During the same period, ongoing activity was reported for 20 volcanoes.
A strong earthquake registered by the BMKG as M6.2 hit the Timor region, Indonesia at 21:04 UTC on November 1, 2023 at a depth of 45 km (28 miles). USGS is reporting M6.1 at a depth of 36 km (22 miles); EMSC M6.0 at a depth of 39 km (24 miles).
Significant activity was reported at Klyuchevskoy volcano in Kamchatka, Russia, on October 31, 2023. The Aviation Color Code was raised to Red at 02:34 UTC, and satellite data indicated an ash column reaching up to 14 km (46 000 feet) above sea level at 23:10 UTC.
A newly-discovered asteroid designated 2023 UR10 flew past Earth at just 0.036 LD / 0.00009 AU (13 951 km / 8 669 miles) from the center of our planet at 04:27 UTC on October 20, 2023. This is about 7 580 km (4 709 miles) from the surface.
Tropical Storm “Pilar” formed offshore Central America at 03:00 UTC on Monday, October 30, 2023, as the 16th named storm of the 2023 Pacific hurricane season. The forecast shows Pilar nearing the El Salvador or Nicaragua coast late today to early Wednesday, with the core likely staying offshore. The storm is expected to move west-southwest away from land by Thursday.
A strong and shallow earthquake registered by the CSN Chile as M6.6 hit near the coast of Atacama, central Chile at 12:33 UTC (09:33 LT) on October 31, 2023. The agency is reporting a depth of 46 km (28 miles). USGS and EMSC are reporting M6.7 at a depth of 41 km (25 miles).
A strong and deep earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.4 hit the Fiji region at 11:10 UTC on October 31, 2023. The agency is reporting a depth of 547 km (339 miles). EMSC is reporting the same magnitude and depth.
