Earth-sized planets found in Habitable zone

NASA's Kepler mission has discovered its first Earth-sized planet in a habitable zone. Up to 54 new potential planets were found in the habitable zone. Five of the planets are the size of Earth, while the remaining 49 planets are larger than Earth, but smaller than Jupiter. Kepler also found six planets orbiting a sun-like star, Kepler-11.Scientists will conduct follow-up observations to verify they are actual planets. So far Kepler has identified 1,235 planets, of these, 68 are approximately Earth-size.

http://www.zamboangatoday.ph/index.php/inside-stories/3089-earth-sized-planet-candidates-found-in-habitable-zone-.html

Earthquake Swarm strikes near Mount St. Helens

A series of earthquakes, known as an earthquake swarm, struck at 10:35 a.m. on Monday a couple of miles north of the Mount St. Helens.The initial earthquake measured at a 4.3 magnitude and the aftershocks ranging between 1.0 and 2.8 in magnitude. At least 12 small earthquakes were registered in the area since teh first quake on Monday. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS) swarms are especially common around volcanoes and are often reliable methods of predicting an eruption. The USGS will closely monitor Mount St. Helens in the upcoming weeks.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20110216/sc_ac/7864744_usgs_watching_mount_st_helens_volcano_following_earthquake_swarm

Next big quake to be in Illinois??

Mian Liu, a geologist from the University of Missouri-Columbia, says his research of earthquakes in China could hold clues to the next big quake hitting in Illinois. Although this year marks the bicentennial of the New Madrid Earthquake of 1811, if Liu is correct the next bid quake will not happen in the New Madrid fault system.Using records dating back to 2,000 years ago, Liu discovered that the big earthquakes never have occurred twice in the same place. Liu believes the New Madrid fault earthquake of 1811 added stress to the Wabash valley Seismic fault system. That is where Liu predicts the next big quake. The last major earthquake to occur along the Wabash Seismic Zone was in April of 2008. The 5.2 earthquake was felt across the Tri-State. Researchers are now using GPS to test their theory.

 

http://www.courierpress.com/news/2011/feb/13/geologist-predicts-next-big-quake-spot/ 

700 killed in Brazil mudslide last week

More than 700 people have been killed in flash floods and mudslides last week that swept through the state of Rio de Janeiro. Rescue crews were slow arriving due to the poor weather conditions, leaving survivors to dig for dead family members. More than 14,000 are homeless in one of the worst natural disasters in Brazilian history. The World Bank pledged $485 million that will be used to rebuild the towns and set up a prevention plan for the future. The threat for more mudslides remain high as the average summer rainfall continues. The death toll is expected to rise as mud is slowly removed.

 

A dog keeps watch near his owner's grave

 http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/laplaza/2011/01/brazil-floods-victims-loyal-dog-rousseff-rescue-mudslides.html

Powerful Quake rocks Chile year after disaster

     An 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck the same region on Saturday, nearly a year after a massive temblor and tsunami killed 500 people and totaled $30 billion in damage. The strong quake was followed by several aftershocks with magnitudes of 5.9 and 6.1 in the same area. The epicenter occurred somewhere in the Pacific approximately 70 miles from the city of Concepcion. Some residents evacuated coastal areas as a precaution, but as of now, no causalities have been reported. In 2005, the same area was heavily damaged by an 8.8 magnitude earthquake and on February 27,2010, a tsunami.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5g4_fbwhEaCUybi9z6TnuuWx08p8g?docId=CNG.54bce2dbf3391e980f0ec85d38e21e9f.c21

Cyclone Yasi Hits Australia

     A level 5 cyclone named Yasi hit the coast of Australia on Thursday, February 3. The cyclone hit weeks after Australia was hit with substantial flooding that killed 15 people. The people of Australia were forewarned of the massive storm heading their way. Many boarded windows and evacuated to rescue shelters before the storm hit. Although their is severe damage in areas it isn't as bad as what was expected. The storm carried winds over 190 mph. The complete damage is still unknown, because phone lines were cut during the storm. At least 180,000 homes are still without power. As of now, no one was killed in the storm, but two people are missing. The storm was equivalent to Hurricane Katrina that hit New Orleans in 2005.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12173846