Mesosphere

not at all mick another aftershock of 5.1 has been detected in the Eastern Sichuan Region of china at 1528 UTC (1628 BST) Source : EMSC (European - Medittereanian Seismological Centre)

7000 people dead in the china earthquake this morning , so so upsetting to here of the large loss of life in this natural disatser It's made front page news on the BBC news website this afternoon http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7396400.stm There's been loads of aftershocks and other tremors around the same region throughout today all around 4 or 5 on the richter scale ------------------------------------- Just to report that a 5th magnitude earthuquake struck the Kuril Islands this morning at about 02:21 UTC (03:31 BST) (map below) USGS are also reporting an earthquake of 5.1 hitting the KODIAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA

The Preliminary magnitude of 7.8 has been put down to 7.5 , just to update everyone

Well there's been two earthquakes of 5th magnitude or over yesterday evening , on e in afghanistan mesuring 5.2 and the other was in the Northern Mid Atlantic Ridge mesuring 5.0 on the Richter Scale Maps :- Afghanistan : Northern Mid Atlantic Ridge : THERE'S BEEN A MAJOR SEISMIC EVENT IN THE LAST HOUR!!! Reports seem to be coming in on the USGS site that a magnitude 7.8 earthquake has occured somewhere in china , the USGS are also reporting on there website that the magnitude is only preliminary and is subject to revison , so 7.8 is probaly only an estimate INFO :- Magnitude : 7.8 (Preliminary magnitude — subject to revision) Date - Time : Monday, May 12, 2008 at 06:28:04 UTC (7:28am BST) Location : 31.110°N, 103.330°E Depth : 29 km(18.0 miles) set by location program Region : EASTERN SICHUAN, CHINA Distances : 92 km (57 miles) NW (307°) from Chengdu, Sichuan, China 139 km (87 miles) WSW (256°) from Mianyang, Sichuan, China 175 km (109 miles) NNW (348°) from Leshan, Sichuan, China 1150 km (715 miles) NNW (348°) from HANOI, Vietnam Location Uncertainty : Error estimate not available Parameters : NST=016, Nph=016, Dmin=>999 km, Rmss=1.12 sec, Gp= 76°, M-type=moment magnitude (Mw), Version=1 Source : West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center/NOAA/NWS Event ID : at00057368 Maps :-

thanks for that snowbear

due to the success of the volcanic activity thread i thought we could this thread to discuss and report on seismic activity around the world Earthquakes reported here must be 5th magnitude or over and can occur anywhere in the world So i may aswell start off : on friday 9th may 2008 there was a magnitude 6.7 earthquake reported in the Guam Region at around 21:51 UTC (22:51 BST) (see map below) Info on activity (from USGS) :- Magnitude : 6.7 Date - Time : Friday, May 09, 2008 at 21:51:31 UTC Loacation : 12.509°N, 143.157°E Depth : 87.6 km (54.4 miles) Region : GUAM REGION Distances : 205 km (125 miles) WSW of HAGATNA, Guam 285 km (180 miles) SW of Rota, Northern Mariana Islands 405 km (250 miles) SW of SAIPAN, Northern Mariana Islands 505 km (315 miles) SSW of Anatahan, Northern Mariana Islands Location Uncertanity : horizontal +/- 5.3 km (3.3 miles); depth +/- 12.9 km (8.0 miles) Parameters : NST=246, Nph=246, Dmin=220.6 km, Rmss=0.98 sec, Gp= 25°, M-type=moment magnitude (Mw), Version=8 Source : USGS NEIC (WDCS-D) Event ID : us2008rvcj *The Event has been reviewed by a seismologist

Current Weather stats : Outdoor Temperature : 18.1C Outdoor Humidity : 48% Wind Speed : 2.2mph Wind Direction : South Pressure : 1017.6mb , steady Rain Today : Nil

well phil i can confirm which Iridium you observed , it was Iridium 72 launched from California, USA on May 17th , 1998 it flared up at about 11.38pm on monday night at your location

Just wondering if anyone on this forum has observed an iridium flare , i've observed a few and there very cool to observe They are a bunch of satellites , i think there's around 60 in orbit which flare up when the sun hits there solar panels , they can be seen in the sky if you know where to look. Here's a definition of an iridum flare The Iridium communication satellites have a peculiar shape with three polished door-sized antennas, 120 degrees apart and at 40 degree angles with the main bus. The forward mirror faces the direction in which the satellite is travelling. Occasionally an antenna will directly reflect sunlight down to the Earth, creating a predictable and quickly moving illuminated spot of about 10 km diameter. To an observer this looks like an extremely bright flare in the sky with a duration of a couple of seconds.Some of the flares are so bright (some get up to -8 magnitude, but rarely they can get to a brilliant -9.5) (that's VERY bright :lol: ) that they can be seen at daytime, but they are most impressive at night.

reports seem to be coming in , saying that a B3 class solar flare has been unleashed by the sun in the last few hours GOES (Geostaionary Operational Enviromental Satellite) data seems to confirm this :- (i've drawn a line on the image showing the point when the flare was picked up by the satellite)

things have started to calm down now today's space weather forecast is shown below :- Solar Activity Forecast: Solar activity is expected to be very low. Geophysical Activity Forecast: The geomagnetic field is expected to be unsettled with isolated active periods for 25 April. Predominantly quiet conditions are expected for 26-27 April. Latest Auroral Oval Image :-

Looking very Interesting at the moment with this latest plot taken from the NOAA 15 Satellite showing a very extensive Auroral Oval. The Planetery K - Index is Currently at 4 which is unsettled but the 24 hour max is 5 which is a storm , i'm gonna keep an eye on this! http://nwstatic.co.uk/forum/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/dry.gif

well i think i'll pick my target :- I'll Go for Nowata , Oklahoma

Temperature : 7.2C Humidity : 73% Wind Speed : 3.1mph Wind Direction : South Pressure : 1005.4mb , steady Rain Today : Nil Current Condtions : Cloudy

Reason for issue * latest warning for tropical cyclone Neoguri * tropical disturbance information Next bulletin * after 2100 GMT on 17 April 2008 although earlier bulletins may be issued should significant developments occur NORTHWESTERN PACIFIC OCEAN TYPHOON Neoguri / 02W Warning 15 at 1500 GMT Position 16.6N 111.9E Location 195 miles SE of Hainan Island, China Movement NNW at 7 knots Maximum sustained winds 85 knots Maximum gusts 105 knots Next update from JTWC at 2100 GMT Neoguri has peaked in intensity and has started to lose some of its strength due to worsening atmospheric conditions. The storm will make landfall in the extreme east of Hainan Island in 24 hours' time, with landfall in mainland China 12 hours later. Full dissipation is expected in 3 days' time. HAZARD SUMMARY Maximum significant wave height 24 feet Tropical storm force winds occur within 95 to 105 miles of the centre Hurricane (typhoon) strength winds occur within 35 miles of the centre CHINESE WARNINGS The ORANGE alert has been raised by the CMO. Emergency response III has been initiated. Neoguri is expected to make landfall on Hainan between Sanya and Wenchang Residents are advised not to go to sea. Winds are expected between force 7 and 9, but near force 12 in the proximity of the centre of the storm.

Latest Satellite Image of the Typhoon: Here's a Bulliten sent out yesterday (Bulletin 263) Reason for issue * latest warning for tropical cyclone Neoguri Next bulletin * after 0900 GMT on 17 April 2008 although earlier bulletins may be issued should significant developments occur NORTHWESTERN PACIFIC OCEAN TYPHOON Neoguri / 02W Warning 12 at 2100 GMT Position 14.7N 112.3E Location 350 miles SSE of Hainan Island, China Movement NNW at 8 knots Maximum sustained winds 75 knots Maximum gusts 90 knots Next update from JTWC at 0300 GMT Neoguri has strengthened further over the South China Sea, and will reach an intensity of 85 knots prior to landfall, which will occur early on Friday on Hainan Island. As a result of interaction with land and deteriorating atmospheric conditions, Neoguri will dissipate over land within a day afterwards. HAZARD SUMMARY Maximum significant wave height 22 feet Tropical storm force winds occur within 95 to 105 miles of the centre Hurricane (typhoon) strength winds occur within 30 miles of the centre

Genreally a nice warm , sunny day up here with some cloud cover at times Current Conditions :- Temperature : 11.7C Humidity : 51% Wind Direction : E Wind Speed : 2.2mph Rain Today : Nil Pressure : 1013.5mb , steady Current Weather : Clear , Few Clouds

Latest Infrared , Infrared NHC Colour Enhancment and Water Vapour Satelite Images :-

2 rumbles of thunder about a half hour ago

i'm also having problems with metcheck this morning , i agree with rob who posted earlier on , they really need to get some new servers

well guys i'm new to Virtual Storm Chasing and thank you Nick F for posting that great tutorial on Virtual Storm Chasing , it has really helped me pick my location today . It's my first day Virtual Storm Chasing so some of you's may think this location is a bad idea , some may think it is good. But i'm Going to to go for Archer City , Texas Looking forward to seeing how it goes

Current Stats from Weather Station : (11.02am) Temperature : 10.4C Humidity : 69% Wind Direction : SW Wind Speed : 6.0mph Rain Today so far : Nil Pressure : 1013.3mb , slowly rising Current Conditions : Mostly Clear

thanks for the info Nick , very helpful and well explained

Latest Satellite Image showing the system :-

9:20am :- Temp : 5.4C Humidity : 63% Wind Direction : West Wind Speed : Calm Pressure : 991.6mb , steady Current Condtions : Overcast