• Night sky guide for January 2016

    We start the year with our planet reaching perihelion – closest point to the Sun – which will happen at 22:49 UTC on January 2. At the time, Earth will be 146.6 million km (91 million miles) from the Sun. The first meteor shower of the year – Quadrantids – will…

  • Active volcanoes in the world: December 23 – 29, 2015

    New activity/unrest was observed at 2 volcanoes from December 23 – 29, 2015. During the same period, ongoing activity was reported for 9 volcanoes. New activity/unrest: Kanlaon, Philippines | Tengger Caldera, Eastern Java (Indonesia). Ongoing activity: Chirpoi,…

  • Violent tornadoes produce massive damage in Texas, US

    Severe weather conditions continued across Texas on December 26, 2015, as several violent tornadoes swept the area killing 11 people. The total death toll caused by extreme weather conditions in the US since December 23 is now 29. Only a few days after the storm on…