Deep M7.0 earthquake hits Fiji region
A deep earthquake, registered by the USGS as M7.0, hit Fiji Region at 08:09 UTC on November 12, 2022. The agency is reporting a depth of 587 km (364 miles). EMSC is reporting the same magnitude and depth.
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.
Two M1.2 solar flares erupt from Region 3141
Two M1.2 solar flares erupted from Active Region 3141 (Beta-Gamma-Delta) on November 11, 2022 – the first at 07:14 and the second at 11:40 UTC. The region is located at the center of the solar disk — coronal mass ejections (CMEs) produced by it are likely to be Earth-directed.
Asteroid 2022 UU63 flew past Earth at 0.2 LD
A newly-discovered asteroid designated 2022 UU63 flew past Earth at a distance of 0.197 LD / 0.00051 AU (75 683 km / 47 027 miles) at 21:01 UTC on October 27, 2022.
Very strong M7.3 earthquake hits Tonga Islands region, Tsunami Advisory issued
A very strong earthquake, registered by the USGS as M7.1, hit the Tonga Islands region at 10:48 UTC on November 11, 2022. The agency is reporting a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles). EMSC is reporting M7.3 at a depth of 60 km (37 miles).
Trajectory of the main bolides recorded by the SWEMN network in 2022
This video shows the atmospheric trajectory of some of the brightest fireballs recorded by the Southwestern Europe Meteor Network (SWEMN) from La Hita Astronomical Observatory (Toledo, Spain) in 2022.
Study shows how Earth-Sun distance dramatically influences annual weather cycles in the equatorial Pacific in a 22 000-year cycle
A new research led by the University of California, Berkeley, demonstrates that one driver of annual weather cycles in the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean—in particular, a cold tongue of surface waters stretching westward along the equator from the coast of South America—has gone unrecognized: the changing distance between Earth and the Sun.
Category 1 Hurricane “Nicole” makes landfall just south of Vero Beach, Florida
Radar imagery from Miami and Melbourne shows the center of Category 1 Hurricane “Nicole” has made landfall on the east coast of the Florida peninsula on North Hutchinson Island just south of Vero Beach at 08:00 UTC on November 10, 2022. Nicole is the latest calendar year hurricane to make landfall on the east coast of Florida on record, breaking the old record set by the Yankee Hurricane on November 4, 1935.
Record rains hit California, leaving 1 person dead and several missing
A powerful storm hit California on November 8, 2022, bringing record-breaking rains, snow, and at least 1 tornado. The storm left one person dead and several others missing. This was the wettest start of November in nearly 20 years for many locations across the state.
The Weekly Volcanic Activity Report: November 2 – 8, 2022
New activity/unrest was reported for 4 volcanoes from November 2 to 8, 2022. During the same period, ongoing activity was reported for 20 volcanoes.
Increased activity at Villarrica volcano, Alert Level raised to Yellow, Chile
The Alert Level for Villarrica volcano, Chile has been raised from Green to Yellow on November 8, 2022. The decision was made due to increased activity detected at the volcano over the past 30 days. The current eruptive episode began in December 2014.
