• Comet Encke swings around the Sun as seen by solar observatory

    For the past couple of days, Comet 2P/Encke is visible through the eyes of ESA/NASA solar observatory SOHO as it swings around the Sun. The comet made its closest approach to the Sun – perihelion – at 02:11 UTC on March 10, 2017. Encke is a periodic comet that…

  • Early season tornado near Würzburg, Germany

    A single small cell produced an early season tornado near Würzburg, Germany on March 9, 2017. Pictures and videos of this rather photogenic twister soon started circulating social media. According to local police reports, the tornado destroyed a lot in the…

  • Westgate Park lake turns bright pink, Australia

    A salt lake in Westgate Park, just off the Yarra River and Port Phillip Bay in Melbourne's center, Australia has turned a brilliant, bright pink a few days ago, delighting locals. Parks Victoria said this is a natural phenomenon in response to very high salt…

  • Perryville tornado rated EF-4, the first violent tornado of 2017

    The National Weather Service has upgraded the Perryville, Missouri tornado of February 28, 2017 to EF-4 today. This makes it the first violent tornado of 2017. The event lasted an astounding 1 hour and 2 minutes and was the longest track tornado in the coverage area…

  • Historic earthquakes discovered along San Andreas Fault

    In a new study, USGS geologist Dr. Kate Scharer and her team excavated trenches across the San Andreas Fault – near Frazier Mountain in northeastern Kern County – to investigate the timing of sand, mud, and gravel deposits that were episodically ripped…

  • Night sky guide for March 2017

    The Sun will shine directly on the equator and there will be nearly equal amounts of day and night throughout the world – March equinox – on March 20. This is the first day of spring (vernal equinox) in the northern hemisphere and the first day of fall (autumnal…