Global Eruption Rocks the Sun

On August 1, 2010, an entire hemisphere of the sun erupted. Filaments of magnetism snapped and exploded, shock waves raced across the stellar surface, billion-ton clouds of hot gas billowed into space. Astronomers knew they had witnessed something big.

It was so big, it may have shattered old ideas about solar activity.

"The August 1st event really opened our eyes," says Karel Schrijver of Lockheed Martin's Solar and Astrophysics Lab in Palo Alto, CA. "We see that solar storms can be global events, playing out on scales we scarcely imagined before."

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2010/13dec_globaleruption/

Millions of Dead Fish in Chesapeake Bay

State officials say they are investigating a "very large" fish kill in the Chesapeake Bay, but suspect cold temperatures killed them, rather than any water-quality problems.

An estimated 2 million fish have been reported dead from the Bay Bridge south to Tangier Sound, according to the Maryland Department of the Environment, which investigates fish kills. The dead fish are primarily adult spot, with some juvenile croakers.

Agency spokeswoman Dawn Stoltzfus said bay water quality appears acceptable, and biologists believe "cold-water stress" the likely cause of the fish kill. Spot are susceptible to colder water, she said, and normally leave the upper bay by now. Water temperatures plummeted in late December to near-record lows for that time of year, about 36 degrees. The average air temperature last month was 32.4 degrees, 4.3 degrees below normal, and reached 16 degrees at its lowest, according to the National Weather Service.

ttp://www.baltimoresun.com/features/green/bs-gr-fish-kill-bay-20110104,0,5624655.story

Hundreds of Dead Fish in Canada

Hundreds of dead fish that washed up on shore in the north end of the St. Clair River is a natural occurrence and not the result of a chemical spill, a government officials say.

Ministry of Natural Resources spokesperson Jolanta Kowalski confirmed that both the MNR and environment ministry were alerted to a massive die-off of gizzard shad fish late last week.

“We think it’s a natural occurrence,” Kowalski said. “They died off as a result of temperature shock because we had that really warm weekend ... and then it quickly cooled off again.”

Kowalski said such die-offs are not unusual but it typically happens in the spring.

Only one species was affected, further supporting the idea it was a natural occurrence, she said.

“There was nothing to indicate that it was man-made.”

http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/2011/01/04/16757321.html

Thousands of Dead Fish in Brazil

A survey conducted by the Federation of Fishermen's Colony of Paraná, Paranaguá on the coast of the state, indicates that at least 100 tons of fish (sardine, croaker and catfish) have turned up dead since last Thursday off the coast of Parana.

On Sunday, representatives from the Environmental Institute of Paraná (IAP), the Secretary of State for the Environment and Water Resources (SEMA), took samples to verify the reason for the deaths. The report will be released today.

The president of the Federation of Fishermen's Colony of Parana, Edmir Manoel Ferreira, reports that between Paranaguá and Guaraqueçaba at least 2,800 fishermen depend on the daily seafood.

"On Thursday we began to realize very dead fish. Only one community came to bury 15 tons. We are experiencing a very sad situation on the coast, "reports.

Apart from Paranagua, Ferreira said the dead fish are starting to appear in other coastal towns. "The dead fish are going to Antonina, and Guaraqueçaba Pontal do Paraná. We need an urgent solution to this, "he warns.

Read more here...

Now in 4 Areas (3 States): Birds Fall Out of the Sky

Thousands of dead birds fall out of the sky in Kentucky, Louisiana, Arkansas, and South America. The media of course downplays the find.

Now Dead Birds Found In Louisiana

This story was first reported on ABC Nightly News in the U.S. - Today in LaBarre, Louisiana, about 500 dead blackbirds and starlings were discovered, say wildlife officials. The birds were discovered lying dead on roads between Morganza, La. and New Roads, La. on highway 10.

http://www.sure-start.com/now-dead-birds-found-in-louisiana/3673107/

Spacequakes Rumble the Earth (Planetary Tremors)

Researchers using NASA's fleet of five THEMIS spacecraft have discovered a form of space weather that packs the punch of an earthquake and plays a key role in sparking bright Northern Lights. They call it "the spacequake."

A spacequake in action. Click to launch a computer-simulated movie created by Walt Feimer of Goddard's Scientific Visualization Lab.

A spacequake is a temblor in Earth's magnetic field. It is felt most strongly in Earth orbit, but is not exclusive to space. The effects can reach all the way down to the surface of Earth itself.

"Magnetic reverberations have been detected at ground stations all around the globe, much like seismic detectors measure a large earthquake," says THEMIS principal investigator Vassilis Angelopoulos of UCLA.

It's an apt analogy because "the total energy in a spacequake can rival that of a magnitude 5 or 6 earthquake," according to Evgeny Panov of the Space Research Institute in Austria. Panov is first author of a paper reporting the results in the April 2010 issue of Geophysical Research Letters (GRL).

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2010/27jul_spacequakes/

Americas Shame: Wild Horses Roundup

Millions of YOUR tax money hard at work taking care of one of America's biggest and horrific problems.....wild horses.

Scientists Create 52 Artificial Rain Storms

Hail, lightning and gales came through the state's eastern region this summer thanks to scientist-puppetmasters.

As part of a secret program to control the weather in the Middle East, scientists working for the United Arab Emirates government artificially created rain where rain is generally nowhere to be found. The $11 million project, which began in July, put steel lampshade-looking ionizers in the desert to produce charged particles. The negatively charged ions rose with the hot air, attracting dust. Moisture then condensed around the dust and eventually produced a rain cloud. A bunch of rain clouds.

On the 52 days it rained in the region throughout July and August, forecasters did not predict rain once.

While fascinating, this is not the first time scientists have attempted to mess with Mother Nature. China has been tinkering with cloud seeding for years, not always successfully.

http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/01/03/scientists-create-52-artificial-rain-storms-in-abu-dhabi-desert

Origin of the Legend of Jesus Christ

Judgment Day: May 21, 2011?

According to a small Christian movement, yes, it will.

The movement, led by Harold Camping who runs the evangelical station Family Radio, is predicting that mid-May of this year will bring about Judgment Day--the time when, according to some, the earth will be destroyed due to mankind's sins and all Christian believers will ascend to heaven.

Apparently Camping believes this will occur on May 21st because of a mathematical system he created to interpret prophecies hidden in the Bible.

While this prediction is pretty eerie in light of the mysterious animal deaths in Arkansas, it's worth noting that this isn't the first time that Camping has predicted the end of the world.

He originally used his mathematical system to predict Sept. 6, 1994 as Judgement Day. (via NPR)

http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/01/03/judgement-day-will-may-21-2011-be-the-end-of-the-world