Thursday, January 21, 2021

Quakes, Eruptions & Uranus... A New President

Big rock moves 60 miles down near the southern tip of the diamond shaped Philippine plate produced a magnitude 7.0 quake earlier today. It was far offshore so likely no real damage and no tsunami warning..no harm, no foul?? Just a reminder, pressures build, rocks break and move, everyday!! Several mag. 5+ subduction quakes just offshore Chile/Peru boundary.
Lots of magma looking to get to the surface of our fractured planet; 22 volcanoes on the week's list (and none in Guatemala and no Popo so I know that list is incomplete). Etna is back on the list, oozing and blasting on Sicily, Kilauea's basaltic lava pools and looks for ways to escape and flow and Indonesia is still the place to be, or not, if volcanic activity you want to see; usual 5 blasting away, steer clear! Kamchatka also, stirred of late, ties Indonesia with 5 blasting mountains.
Two in the Aleutians are on the list but only to report there is no report, technical difficulties. New Zealand's Ruapehu has settled and calmed. Sabancaya in Peru is still blasting away, couple of dozen eruption blasts per day, every day!! Shallow quakes beneath Pelee on Martinique have that island on edge, last blast, boom, no warning!! Soufriere St. Vincent's lava dome continues to grow and ooze; trouble in paradise!!
After a cloudy and cold start, the sun has finally broken through and temps are forecast to climb into the 50's here in central Va. today. The clouds were the edge of a storm sliding, again, through the Carolinas. Monster low over eastern Canada has that region stormy, minor air movements flung our way. Another dry front will slide through tomorrow bringing colder weekend temps. Storms Monday (rain) and next Thursday (snow?) have TV forecasters raising hopes for some snow, something we haven't seen in a couple of years.
The first quarter moon was lovely just below Mars last night. Been looking, think I've seen Uranus (rhymes with platypus not heinous)the last three nights, below Mars to SSE but nearby moon isn't helping. It is dim but seems to be where it is supposed to be from Sky & Tele description. Can't see it without binocs. The moon will have moved, the daily 12 degrees, to the east of Mars tonight. Mercury continues to grow a little higher in SW each night peaking on Saturday for this revolution. It's pretty easy to spot as the sunset colors fade.
And, in really good news, for the entire planet, the USA has a new president and vice-president (gotta give Mikey Pence some props for defying his heinous, former boss and attending, maybe his nuts are descending, his spine beginning to come in). Joe Biden & Kamala Harris - WOOOOOOOOOOO! Hope returns. A heart warming celebration last night, reminiscent of the virtual convention this past summer.
Still, the TrumpVirus rages, US deaths back over 4,000 yesterday; 406,000 total. So, you know the rules: stay safe, be smart, mask on, stay apart! Today On Earth!!
While our pandemic rages, Earth's other creatures just carry on. The hole in this dead-ish tree is a pileated woodpecker at work, cool!!


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